


Inktober

by ezazahaz



Series: Inktobers [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Middle School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst, Baseball, Bucky Barnes's Plums, Bullying, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, De-Serumed Steve Rogers, Dragon Tony Stark, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Firefighter Steve Rogers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Getting Together, Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Inktober 2019, Insecure Steve Rogers, Insecure Tony Stark, Kidnapping, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Meet-Cute, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve Rogers, Second Chances, Secret Identity, Snowball Fight, Some of these may have gotten weird, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Steve Needs a Hug, Superfamily, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Wereparrot Tony Stark, Werewolf Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-09 11:57:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 22,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20853050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezazahaz/pseuds/ezazahaz
Summary: Short works inspired by Inktober prompts. Mostly Steve/Tony and Tony/Bucky, some Steve/Tony/Bucky, some gen/friendship. Mostly fluff, some angst.Includes these and more:5. Build (Tony/Bucky) - Bucky uses what he learns from the amazing things Tony builds.6. Husky (Tony/Bucky) - Tony sees his boyfriend’s transformation for the first time.12. Dragon (Steve & Tony) - Former knight Steve hears about a dangerous dragon and goes to take action.17. Ornament (Tony & Avengers Team) - The Avengers’ family Christmas tree.18. Misfit (Tony & Steve & Bucky) - Tony’s first day at a new school is rough, but it gets better.21. Treasure (Steve/Tony) - Pirate Captain Rogers boards a ship in search of a very particular treasure.22. Ghost (Bucky & Maria & Tony) - Maria haunts the man who murdered her and her husband.26. Dark (Steve/Tony) - Steve wasn’t afraid of the dark until Tony got his arc reactor removed.27. Coat (Steve/Tony) - When Tony is having a terrible day, a kind stranger gives him the coat off his back.29. Injured (Steve/Tony) - Steve doesn’t want people to worry about him; Tony worries anyway.Full index in the Notes





	1. Ring (Steve/Tony)

**Author's Note:**

> I'd never done one of these "write every day" events, but succeeded for [Inktober](https://inktober.com/)! (Writing is art too, even if it wasn't the original intent of the event.)
> 
> The "Chose not to use Archive warnings" is due to a couple that include canon character deaths; warnings are in those chapters.
> 
> Table of Contents:  
1\. Ring (Steve/Tony) - A proposal doesn’t go as planned.  
2\. Mindless (Tony/Bucky) - Bucky blacks out.  
3\. Bait (Steve/Tony) - Iron Man acts as bait and takes a hit.  
4\. Freeze (Steve/Tony/Bucky) - A freezing walk to a remote cabin, then warming up.  
5\. Build (Tony/Bucky) - Bucky uses what he learns from the amazing things Tony builds.  
6\. Husky (Tony/Bucky) - Tony sees his boyfriend’s transformation for the first time.  
7\. Enchanted (Steve/Tony) - Tony finds an enchanted mirror.  
8\. Frail (Steve/Tony) - Steve is de-serumed, and Tony is pissed.  
9\. Swing (Steve/Tony/Bucky) - Tony is more interested in his boyfriends in baseball uniforms than in practice.  
10\. Pattern (Tony/Bucky) - Tony can’t figure out the pattern of his soulmark, until he does.  
11\. Snow (Steve/Tony & Peter) - Steve braves the cold he hates to play in the snow with the family he loves.  
12\. Dragon (Steve & Tony) - Former knight Steve hears about a dangerous dragon and goes to take action.  
13\. Ash (Steve/Tony & Peter) - Peter’s parents are not happy to discover he ran into a burning building to save a cat.  
14\. Overgrown (Tony/Bucky) - Bucky gets Tony a present that he really shouldn’t have.  
15\. Legend (Steve/Tony) - The legend is not the man.  
16\. Wild (Tony/Bucky) - In fairness, wolf Bucky didn’t know the parrot was another shifter...  
17\. Ornament (Tony & Avengers Team) - The Avengers’ family Christmas tree.  
18\. Misfit (Tony & Steve & Bucky) - Tony’s first day at a new school is rough, but it gets better.  
19\. Sling (Steve/Tony) - Tony doesn’t want to wear his sling, but Steve doesn’t want him to hurt himself.  
20\. Tread (Tony/Bucky) - Tony is working on his escape from a kidnapping when he hears a familiar tread.  
21\. Treasure (Steve/Tony) - Pirate Captain Rogers boards a ship in search of a very particular treasure.  
22\. Ghost (Bucky & Maria & Tony) - Maria haunts the man who murdered her and her husband.  
23\. Ancient (Steve & Tony) - Steve talks to the Ancient One about Tony.  
24\. Dizzy (Tony/Bucky) - Tony’s a little out of it after taking a hit in battle. Bucky takes care of him.  
25\. Tasty (Steve/Tony/Bucky) - High school boys enjoying ice cream on their first date.  
26\. Dark (Steve/Tony) - Steve wasn’t afraid of the dark until Tony got his arc reactor removed.  
27\. Coat (Steve/Tony) - When Tony is having a terrible day, a kind stranger gives him the coat off his back.  
28\. Ride (Tony/Bucky) - After someone tries to trigger the Winter Soldier, Bucky needs a lift home.  
29\. Injured (Steve/Tony) - Steve doesn’t want people to worry about him; Tony worries anyway.  
30\. Catch (Peter & Steve/Tony) - Peter’s parents catch on to his secret identity.  
31\. Ripe (Tony/Bucky) - A proposal doesn’t go as planned.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A proposal doesn’t go as planned.

“Uh, Tony?”

Tony stared at the small, open box Steve was holding in front of him. At the gleam of the gold band with a magnificent stripe of red. At his boyfriend, whose face had changed from excited to concerned, probably due to how long Tony had been staring.

“Was sort of expecting an answer, here...?” Steve prompted.

“Not fair!” was what came out when Tony finally found words.

“...not the answer I was expecting,” Steve admitted. His voice was casual but there was uncertainty in his eyes.

“I just needed, like, two more days. One if you’d let me work overnight.”

“Two more days for what? Tony...” Now there was an edge in Steve’s voice as he started to stand.

“No!” Tony said, quickly putting a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “No, I mean yes, I mean--stay there, of course I’m going to say yes, I’m not an idiot, you just have to give me a moment to cope with the fact that you beat me to it. I--your ring isn’t ready yet.”

At that, Steve’s face softened. “Oh.” He smiled. “So... Should I ask again?”

“Yeah, do over, let’s go.” Suddenly there was a lump in Tony’s throat, the (he presumed) normal emotion of the moment finally catching up to him.

“Tony Stark, will you marry me?”

“_Yes_,” Tony breathed, now grabbing the ring like Steve was going to take it away, shoving it on his own finger, and then pulling Steve up into a deep kiss.

When they pulled apart a long moment later, Tony added, “But--I’m totally proposing to you, too, when I finish your ring.”

“Well, if it helps, I’m pretty sure my answer will be ‘Yes.’”


	2. Mindless (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky blacks out.

“Bucky. Come on, sweetheart, come on back to me. _Bucky!_”

The pleasant haze disappeared as the words grew urgent enough to break through into his consciousness. He blinked, seeing Tony’s worried face in front of him, and he froze.

“What did I do?” he asked, icy dread growing in the pit of his stomach. Had he reverted to the Winter Soldier programming again? Hurt someone?

“Thank god... no, sweetheart, you didn’t do anything, just... What’s the last thing you remember?” One of Tony’s hands was on Bucky’s shoulder, the other on his knee as he crouched in front of the sofa in the common room. Behind him, the television screen was off.

Right. They’d been watching a movie. “The, uh, furry creatures were attacking the stormtroopers, and winning somehow...” It had reminded him a little of Stevie taking on guys twice his size back in the thirties. “You were sitting on the floor, and I was running my fingers through your hair...” He tried to remember what happened next, but he couldn’t, which scared him.

But Tony was nodding, rubbing soothing circles on Bucky’s knee and shoulder. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s all you were doing, sweetheart. For over an hour, while apparently blacking out. It was really nice for a while, until I realized you weren’t really with it, and I got worried.”

“Huh.” That was new. “If what’s left of the programming means I just mindlessly pet your hair for an hour, I guess I can live with that...”

Tony smiled, but there was still worry in his eyes. “I don’t like the idea of you blacking out at all, since it could happen at a dangerous time, or you could go hours without food or water.”

“So, like you on an inventing binge?” Bucky said wryly.

Tony started to glare, then shrugged. “Sure. JARVIS, I want protocols in place to alert me, or Steve or Nat if I’m not available, if you detect that Bucky is awake and unresponsive for more than five minutes.”

“Your workshop protocol is five hours.”

“And I still say that should’ve been ten, but--totally unresponsive is different than being engrossed in work. Plus your metabolism means it’s more dangerous for you.”

“Fine,” Bucky agreed, not wanting to argue any longer. Then he reached out and pulled Tony onto his lap. “If I promise not to black out this time, can I go back to petting your hair, doll?”

Tony burrowed his head into Bucky’s neck, where Bucky felt his smile. “Pet me all you want, love.”


	3. Bait (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iron Man acts as bait and takes a hit.

Steve watched in horror as Iron Man swooped around and let the giant monstrosity get closer and closer with its enormous claws, until they reached the bay and Thor’s lightning, sparking through the water, finally downed it.

But in the creature’s final throes, it caught Iron Man with two sharp claws, puncturing his shoulder and slamming the man into the sizzling waves.

“_No!_” Steve screamed, and started running for the water, not caring if the continued lightning might electrocute him, just needing to get out there, to save Tony.

He barely registered the voice behind him shouting, “Steve!”

Then he realized it was Tony’s voice. What...?

He slowed to a stop and turned to see Tony running toward him.

Steve felt his legs nearly give out in relief, and when Tony finally reached him, Steve fell into his embrace. “You’re okay.”

“I had time to get out of the suit before sending JARVIS to pilot it as bait, but no time to tell anyone I wouldn’t be in it, I’m so sorry.”

Steve squeezed him tighter. “I thought you were--”

“I know, I’m sorry. But I’m okay. Really.”

“I can’t lose you... especially not before I’ve told you how I feel about you.”

Tony pulled back--not too far, thankfully, just enough to look Steve in the eyes. “Steve?”

“I love you.”

An amazed smile broke over Tony’s face. “God, Steve, I love you, too.”

Their embrace turned into a passionate kiss, only to be broken when the rest of the team showed up to get their own reassurances that Tony was alive and well. (The others did not get quite the same kind of reassurance as Steve did, of course.)


	4. Freeze (Steve/Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A freezing walk to a remote cabin, then warming up.

Steve hated the cold.

People thought it was because of all his years in the ice, but he honestly didn’t really remember his time frozen in the Valkyrie. He did remember the icy cold the day Bucky had fallen from the train, so that could be the reason. Or maybe the couple of winters in his childhood where he had almost died, wracked with fever and chills as his Ma pulled together miracles to save him.

Or maybe he’d just always hated the cold.

He glanced over at Bucky, trudging through the snow to his right, and saw the dark, pained look on his lover’s face. Bucky had admitted he remembered at least some of his time in the Hydra cryo tubes, which was more than enough reason for him to hate the freezing weather as well. Steve wanted to ask if he was okay, to say _something_, but words just didn’t come.

He managed to turn enough to look behind them, where their other partner was bringing up the rear. When he noticed Steve’s glance back, Tony gave a reassuring smile. “I think we’re almost there.”

Steve wasn’t sure how Tony knew that, but indeed, less than a minute later, he saw the cabin in the distance.

When they finally got in, the cabin itself wasn’t much warmer than outside, but being out of the wind alone was a relief. Steve stood in the entrance, suddenly too tired to even walk further in, much less assess the accommodations and see if things were in place for their mission starting the next day.

Bucky made it further in than him, but then seemed to collapse face-first on the couch Steve could see in the main room. Steve also saw a fireplace, but was disappointed at the lack of a fire.

Tony, however, seemed to have plenty of energy, pulling the backpack off of Steve’s back as he stood there. “I’ll take care of this, go on inside, and take off your coat and boots and everything.”

Steve found himself obeying almost by rote, eventually making it to the room with the couch. Tony had apparently made it there and given Bucky the same commands, as the soldier was currently sitting up and removing his boots. Tony was at the fireplace, giving a joyous “Aha!” as the flame started to take hold, then disappearing from the room.

In addition to the couch, the room included an armchair, a rocking chair, and a coffee table. Steve wanted to be warmer, so he cuddled up next to Bucky before the other man could lie down again and claim the whole couch. Bucky grumbled for a moment, but then relaxed, pulling Steve closer in to snuggle.

Tony briefly reappeared, covering them both with a blanket, then disappeared again. Steve lay his head on Bucky’s shoulder, starting to warm up but still feeling the edge of cold in his bones.

When he heard his name, he opened his eyes, not realizing he’d closed them. Tony was holding out a mug, and Bucky was already sipping at his own, moaning in pleasure. “Hot chocolate?” Tony offered. “It’s just from powder, sorry, but it’ll help warm you up.”

“Thanks,” Steve managed, reaching out to take the mug and shifting slightly to avoid spilling the hot beverage.

Then it seemed Tony was finally ready to settle in himself, and he nestled in close under the blanket on Steve’s other side.

Snuggled under a warm blanket, with a fire crackling, hot chocolate in hand, and both lovers tucked in close, Steve finally started to feel warm.


	5. Build (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky uses what he learns from the amazing things Tony builds.

“Aha, there’s the reason you broke the mug the other day!”

“Hmm?” Bucky glanced up at his boyfriend, who was looking down at the inside of Bucky’s metal hand.

“See this connection here?” Tony pointed them out. “The pressure sensors aren’t calibrated correctly. If I just...”

Bucky watched intently as Tony made the fix, grateful that his boyfriend had a tendency to describe what he was doing while he worked on the arm. It would give Bucky most of the details he needed without having to ask and potentially give away his plan...

[]

A few days later, Bucky was playing catch with DUM-E, watching the bot’s movement intently, though he probably should have been paying more attention to the path of the ball itself.

“Ow!”

Tony looked up from his designs at the other end of the workshop. “You okay, sweetheart?”

DUM-E’s claw swivelled back and forth, appearing almost as concerned.

“Fine,” Bucky said, rubbing a little at the sore spot on his head where the ball had hit. It wouldn’t even bruise, but he felt a little foolish that, as a trained supersoldier, he’d failed to avoid a projectile thrown in a simple game of catch.

[]  
[]

Bucky watched from the roof as a dozen suits made their way back to the Tower. Their enemy hadn’t been difficult, just numerous, so the Iron Legion had helped.

“So is JARVIS piloting all of those, or do they have their own programming to tell them where to go?” Bucky asked Tony, still suited up but with the faceplate down beside him.

“It’s a combination, actually--right now, it’s just their own programming guiding them back, a simple return procedure. During battle, JARVIS makes most of the decisions, while I’ll sometimes take over control for more complicated moves.” Tony looked pleased Bucky had thought to ask the question.

“That’s so impressive,” Bucky replied, “Everything you build is so amazing.” He enjoyed the resulting blush on his boyfriend’s face.

[]  
[]  
===

“Excuse me?” Tony demanded. “JARVIS, did you just say I’m locked out of my own workshop?”

“Sir, the privacy protocols allow the other residents--”

“Not to lock me out of my own workshop. Override, Juliet Bravo One Nine One Seven.”

When the doors slid open, the first thing Tony noticed was Bucky in the corner, quickly fastening a tarp over something about chest-height.

“Keeping secrets from me in my own workshop?” Tony asked.

“I--I needed equipment for something, but I don’t want you to see it.”

“Oh.” That stung, but Tony tried not to let it show.

He clearly failed, as Bucky quickly added, “--Yet! You can’t see it _yet_. It’s... a gift for you.”

“Oh,” Tony said again, but this time with a smile.

[]--c  
[]  
[]  
===

“...ffee?” Tony mumbled, seeing that his boyfriend was already awake in bed next to him.

“Coming right up,” Bucky said with a grin. He didn’t move.

Tony frowned. “Coffee,” he said again, more clearly this time.

“Yep.” Bucky still didn’t move.

Then the door opened. Tony sat up in surprise, then stared in bewilderment.

It was a bot. It looked a little like DUM-E and his brothers, but this one was smaller, and had two arms coming out of the central base, shaped more like prosthetic human arms (normal substandard ones, not like Bucky’s) than Tony’s bots’ crane-like arms.

On one of the arms was the text “COF-E”.

The bot was holding a mug out, wheeling slowly toward Tony’s side of the bed. “Uh, hi, thank you,” Tony said, reaching out to take the proffered mug. It contained a steaming dark liquid that certainly smelled like Tony’s normal morning coffee. “Is this...?”

“Yep, drink up.”

Tony downed the mug’s contents, rejoicing in the necessary morning fuel, then stared at Bucky. “Did you--you built me a coffee delivery bot?”

“Yeah--it’s obviously not as sophisticated as anything you’ve built, but--”

“It’s incredible,” Tony said, feeling choked up. He built things for other people--no one had ever built something for _him_. This must have taken Bucky weeks, maybe months, even if he had JARVIS’ help. “You’re incredible. Thank you.”

Bucky ducked his head, cheeks pink. “Maybe I just didn’t want to get you coffee anymore,” he claimed.

“Really. And was that you could spend more time in bed with me?” Tony waggled his eyebrows.

At that, Bucky’s eyes met his with a smirk. “Caught me.” He leaned in for a deep kiss, then took the empty mug from Tony and handed it to the bot, who turned to leave the room, presumably heading back to the kitchen.

COF-E did not, however, close the bedroom door after leaving.

“I may have missed something in the programming,” Bucky admitted, pouting at the open door.


	6. Husky (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony sees his boyfriend’s transformation for the first time.

“Now, don’t freak out, doll. I may be a wolf, but I’m still me, and I promise I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“I know, you’ve said that, and I know you’d never hurt me. Now let me see.”

“Okay. Uh. Here I go.”

Tony had to admit to himself, even though he knew his boyfriend wouldn’t lie to him, he’d had trouble believing that Bucky was actually a real-life, actual werewolf...

Until he saw the man transforming before his eyes.

His face started elongating, his ears growing pointed and shifting toward the top of his head. His long brown hair shortened into grey fur, matching the fur overtaking his bare shoulders, darker than the white fur growing over his face, arms, and legs. Bucky let out a low moan, not quite a howl, as he bent forward, arms eerily shortening as he went from bipedal to quadrupedal.

In less than a minute, the transformation was complete.

“Oh. My. God.” Tony stared.

Bucky let his tongue hang out, clearly smiling at Tony’s reaction.

“You... are not a wolf,” Tony added.

Bucky’s doggie smile disappeared, and those blue-grey eyes--the same beautiful eyes Bucky had as a human--looked confused.

“You’re a husky.”

Now Bucky gave an indignant huff, clearly trying to glare but only looking cuter.

“You are the most adorable husky I have ever seen. I need to pet you now.” Tony hoped he’d never have said that to a werewolf (weredog) he wasn’t dating (and more). He couldn’t be sure, though. The furball was so damn adorable.

Bucky gave another huff, but this one seemed more amiably resigned, and he stepped forward, nuzzling Tony’s hand.

Tony grinned and dropped to his knees. He started rubbing under the husky’s chin with both hands, and was pleased to see Bucky’s eyes start to close, obviously enjoying it. Then Tony found a spot that made Bucky’s back left leg start thumping, and he laughed. He kept scratching the dog’s chin with one hand, using the other to stroke the soft fur on Bucky’s shoulders and back. After a moment Bucky flopped over on his side, tail flapping wildly in pleasure as Tony started rubbing his belly.

Tony had already known his boyfriend was the cutest guy in the world. Now that he’d seen this new side of him, Tony knew knew nothing and no one else in the universe could ever compare with this level of cuteness.


	7. Enchanted (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds an enchanted mirror.

Usually when Tony accepted payment for his blacksmithing services in trade it was for food or supplies, sometimes raw materials or metal items that could be melted down. Very rarely did he accept magic items as payment, as such things often had a way of causing more trouble than they were worth.

He wasn’t sure why he felt himself compelled to accept the traveller’s offer of an enchanted mirror, nor why he didn’t even ask to see the item before the trade was finalized and the traveller left in their freshly repaired carriage.

Now Tony stood in front of the enchanted mirror, intrigued. The figure in the mirror moved as he did, lifting first one arm, then the other, as he did, behaving as any normal mirror would.

Except the figure in the mirror looked nothing like Tony.

Instead, the mirror showed a skinny, almost delicate blond man, who appeared several years younger than Tony, though he wasn’t the child Tony had first thought. He was clean-shaven, with no trace of Tony’s carefully trimmed beard. The man’s shirt and trousers were simple and ragged, and looked a style that hadn’t been common in this area for several decades at least.

But what really drew Tony in were the eyes. While the reflection’s facial features moved as Tony’s did, there was a depth of emotion in the blue eyes that didn’t match his, something defiant yet resigned.

Tony felt drawn to the man in the mirror who wasn’t him. Wanted to talk to him, learn his story.

Well, it was an enchanted mirror, wasn’t it? Worth a shot, anyway.

“Who are you?” Tony asked.

The mirror man’s mouth moved like his as he spoke, but while there was no verbal reply, the emotion in the eyes somehow changed to surprise.

“You’re trapped, aren’t you?” Maybe the enchantment was actually a curse.

The look of resignation returned, but with a spark of hope this time.

“Is there a way to release you?” Tony wasn’t sure if the man could actually answer that question, when the only communication he had was through his eyes.

But then--the reflection’s gaze drifted down. Tony was looking at “his” reflection’s eyes, but those eyes were directed lower--Tony’s lips?

“Oh... Huh.” Right. Magic. “Well, if you need true love’s kiss, I’m afraid I don’t believe in love at first sight, and I don’t have a clue as to how to find your true love, if they’re out there somewhere. But if it’s just any kiss, then...”

Tony leaned closer, his reflection doing the same. The eyes were now radiating a desperate hope, so Tony closed the distance and touched his lips to the mirror’s surface.

He had a moment to realize he may have just doomed himself to take the trapped man’s place--because magic did crap like that sometimes--when suddenly he felt warm, soft lips under his.

Tony sprung back from the man who had just appeared in the flesh in front of him. Behind him, the mirror’s frame remained, but the glass was gone.

Though the living man was no longer reflecting his movements, Tony imagined they had similar looks of shock on their faces.

“Guess it worked?” Tony managed to say.

“It worked...” the man said in awe. “I never expected... thank you.”

There were a million questions running through Tony’s mind--_Who are you? How long were you in there? Who cursed you?_\--but what came out was, “So, no true love’s kiss necessary, then?”

The man’s cheeks pinked and he looked away. “Not exactly... but the sorcerer might have said something about only being released if someone found me, uh... attractive.” He cleared his throat. “So you can see why I thought it would never happen. Of course, no one else ever kissed me in all the time I was in there, so maybe it was just that someone had to be willing to do it at all...”

“I find you attractive,” Tony said bluntly.

The man’s eyes widened and his cheeks turned red, and Tony was pleased to see his whole face react, even if his blue eyes were still wonderfully expressive. “I--really?”

“Really, I’d love to court you, if--but wait, I’m forgetting myself, doing everything out of order.” He stuck out a hand. “I’m Tony Stark, and you are?”

The blushing blond took his hand, giving a surprisingly hard squeeze back. “Steve Rogers. It’s nice to meet you, Tony. Thank you for freeing me.”

“It was my pleasure,” Tony responded sincerely. “I must say, you seem utterly enchanting.”


	8. Frail (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is de-serumed, and Tony is pissed.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say? I must have misheard you, because what I _thought_ I just heard was that you _deliberately let Loki cast this spell on you_.”

Hearing the words Tony bit out in unconcealed anger, Steve thought that maybe it hadn’t been one of his brightest ideas.

But when Loki had claimed that Tony only wanted him for his enhanced body, that he’d never have loved the original Steve Rogers, Steve had been so confident the Asgardian was wrong that he’d agreed to prove it.

By allowing his body to be transformed--temporarily--back into the frail, skinny weakling he’d been before Erskine’s serum.

He’d been expecting reassurance from Tony, not anger, though letting it slip that Steve had gone with the spell intentionally probably didn’t help.

“He said it was temporary,” Steve defended.

“Oh, well, that makes it okay, then,” Tony retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm. “It happened over an hour ago, just how long is this supposed to last?”

“I... don’t know,” Steve admitted. That had definitely been a mistake on his part--“temporary” might have a drastically different meaning for a being with a lifespan of thousands of years.

“You...” Tony clenched his fists, taking a slow, deep breath, then let it out. “I need to go,” he said, then turned and walked away.

“Tony,” Steve called after him, but his boyfriend didn’t stop, and Steve made no effort to follow him.

Could Loki have been right after all?

~

Several hours later, a package arrived at the tower, addressed to Steve. It contained an inhaler, several bottles of vitamins and other pills, and a note that just said “8am tomorrow, Dr. Foster,” with an office address.

He’d already had his appointment with SHIELD Medical, who’d pronounced him unharmed, so he wasn’t sure what the appointment was for.

Steve figured he could probably ask JARVIS. Or... he could use this as an excuse to go ask the person who’d most likely ordered the delivery.

~

Steve was relieved to find he wasn’t locked out of the workshop.

He was surprised to be greeted with a casual, “Oh, good, you’re here, try this on,” like Tony hadn’t stormed away the last time they’d spoken.

Steve took what he was handed--a gauntlet? It looked like an unfinished piece of Iron Man armor, though smaller than normal. Steve let it close over his hand, and it fit.. well, like a glove. “What... what is this?” he asked, looking up at Tony.

Tony’s gaze was--no longer angry, not exactly, but intent. “What do you think it is?”

“Are you building me a suit?”

Tony shrugged. “Your current uniform isn’t going to cut it right now. And I know you, the next Avengers call and it’d kill you to sit on the sidelines. But going out in your normal getup might _literally_ kill you, so I’m doing my damnedest to minimize the chances of that.” He turned away, fingers pulling up a few figures on a holographic display. “Hydraulics will help you use the shield despite decreased muscle mass, and I’ve added electromagnets to make catching it easier--I expect your reaction time won’t be what you’re used to. The HUD will account for your diminished eyesight and color blindness. Most suits already monitor vitals, but this one will also be able to administer things like a bronchodilator if it detects breathing issues...”

Steve put down the gauntlet and stared at the schematics Tony was flipping through, swallowing hard around a lump in his throat.

This... this was Tony showing he loved Steve. Not just making the new suit for him, but understanding that continuing to fight with the team despite his current condition would be necessary to Steve’s emotional well-being. Not just knowing the maladies that had afflicted Steve before the serum, but accepting them and finding ways to work around them without preventing Steve from living his life.

Of course, loving Steve wasn’t the same as wanting him. But it was more important. It was enough, right?

“Can I kiss you right now?” Steve meant to play it off as a mere expression of fondness and gratitude, but he heard the note of pleading that somehow slipped out.

And when Tony looked over at him, there was a look of dismay on his face.

Steve started to shake his head. “Nevermind, you don’t--”

Then Tony was in his space, arms wrapped around him, lips on his, kissing him deeply, urgently. Then Steve was being lifted to sit on a nearby table, as the kiss continued. Steve was starting to feel short of breath when Tony stopped and pulled back, leaving his hands on Steve’s shoulders.

“Was that seriously what all this was about? You thought I wouldn’t want you like this?”

Steve swallowed. “At first, I thought it wouldn’t matter to you--but then... you were so angry.”

“Because you put yourself in danger!” Tony shouted, then took a deep breath and continued more calmly, “I’ve seen your 4F forms. I know how lucky you were to make it to adulthood, and every damn day I’m grateful you survived long enough to get the serum, to be here with me now. And then you chose to risk dying of fucking rheumatic fever. So yes, I was angry--still am, honestly--but I’ll do what I can to make sure you don’t die--of disease or in battle--and in the meantime, I will continue to kiss you and hold you and make love with you because I fucking love you, Steve Rogers, not the serum.” Tony’s face had been serious, but now quirked up in a half-smile. “Despite what I may have said the day we met, you’ve always been special. What came out of a bottle just made you less breakable. So... try not to break on me, here?”

Steve was overcome with emotion--relief, guilt, but above all, love. “I’ll do my best,” he promised, then pulled Tony in for another kiss.


	9. Swing (Steve/Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is more interested in his boyfriends in baseball uniforms than in practice.

Steve threw the ball.

Bucky caught it.

Tony stood there.

“Uh, doll, you’re supposed to swing,” Bucky said from behind him, as he tossed the ball back to Steve on the pitcher’s mound.

“Sorry, I was distracted by Steve’s arms in that shirt. I mean, are you _seeing_ this?” Tony turned back to look back at Bucky, whose biceps also looked really good, though the catcher’s gear hid more of his physique.

“I am,” Bucky acknowledged, “But we’ve gotta get you trained if we’re gonna beat Clint’s weird circus friends in the game next week. So next time, maybe try to hit the ball?”

“Maybe you could stand right behind me and show me how to hold the bat again?”

“Something tells me you’d be even more distracted if I did that.”

Tony pouted. “Spoilsport,” he grumbled, then turned back into position. When Bucky and Steve had suggested some “private lessons” in addition to the full team practices they’d been having since the circus people Clint had grown up with had challenged the Avengers to a baseball game (how insane was that?), Tony hadn’t realized they’d meant, like, _actual_ practice.

The next time Steve threw--pitched, whatever--the ball, Tony actually swung, and hit!

The ball flew right back to Steve, who caught it easily.

“I hit it!” Tony shouted in victory.

“Better!” Steve shouted back, “But next time don’t hit it straight back to me!”

“You do know the pitcher’s on the other team, right?” Bucky asked from behind him. “He catches it, you’re out.”

“Of course,” Tony replied... only now remembering that baseball fact, but protesting, “It’s reflex. If a projectile comes toward me in battle, chances are I’ll benefit from sending it back at the enemy.”

“Uh-huh.” Bucky clearly didn’t believe him for a second. “Well, get over that... reflex.”

The next two pitches, Tony hit a foul, then another straight back at Steve.

Steve jogged over to them, tossing the ball from hand to hand. “Tell you what, Tony. You get three solid hits in a row during each practice until the game, and the day of the game I’ll wear that underwear you got me as a joke for my birthday.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Okay, now you really gotta do this, doll,” Bucky pleaded.

“Three in a row,” Steve repeated, turning to head back to the pitcher’s mound.

Tony’s swings improved rapidly after that.


	10. Pattern (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony can’t figure out the pattern of his soulmark, until he does.

Tony wasn’t born with a soulmark like everyone else.

When a small pink five-petaled flower shape appeared on his hip when he was seven, he was excited. But his father said it might be cancer, so Jarvis took him to the doctor to get it tested. The results came back negative three days later... one day after the coloration disappeared.

The mark reappeared for five days when he was eleven. He wasn’t sure how long it was there the third time--it was there when he found out his parents had been killed, and gone when he came out of a drunken stupor a few days later for the funeral.

The pattern continued through his adulthood. Except it wasn’t really a pattern. It reappeared seemingly at random, sometimes a few months after the previous occurrence, sometimes up to ten years. It lasted between a few hours and, once, almost two weeks, though normally just a few days.

Tony still didn’t even know if it was a soulmark, or what it would mean for a soulmark to disappear and reappear like that. Was his soulmate’s matching mark flickering too? Were they only sometimes his soulmate? Could the mark be something else entirely?

Each time it happened, he told himself it didn’t matter, but he still kept checking, kept his tally of when it appeared and when it disappeared, hoping to one day figure out the pattern.

~

The mark had been visible again for over a week when Steve asked Tony for help finding his friend Barnes, who’d apparently been used by Hydra as a weapon for decades, tried to kill Steve, saved him, and then gone on the run.

When Tony agreed to put his resources toward finding the wayward Winter Soldier, Steve hesitated. “You should probably know some things before you agree...”

~

The Winter Soldier had killed Tony’s parents. That was a shocking discovery, and Tony had to lock himself away in the workshop for three days to try to come to terms with that.

But then he read the rest of the files Steve had given him, and realized just how terribly Bucky Barnes had been treated by Hydra. How he’d been used. All the times he’d been taken out of cryo, sent on a mission, then locked away a few days later...

Wait.

Holy shit.

The _pattern_.

~

When JARVIS let Tony know he had a location on Bucky, Tony went alone. He knew Steve would be pissed when he found out, but he just had to see the man. Talk to him. Alone.

Tony flew in the suit to a small apartment in Romania. Then he stepped out, had JARVIS stay on sentry mode in an alley nearby, and knocked on the door.

The door opened a crack. Only a sliver of a face and one blue eye were visible, but Tony had seen enough pictures and newsreels to know this was the man he was looking for.

“Are you here to kill me?” a quiet, husky voice asked. It was calm, curious, not accusing or fearful.

“If I were, I’d have left the suit on,” Tony replied. “Can I come in?”

“Are you here to bring me to... Steve?” There was a slight hesitation before saying his friend’s name.

“I can if you want me to. But I’m just here to talk.”

“Why?”

Tony thought for half a second, then made up his mind.

Right there on the doorstep, as that single blue eye watched in confusion, Tony unhooked his belt, unzipped his fly, and then pulled the edge of his jeans down just enough to reveal the pink flower on his hip. The shape that had now been visible for a record forty-three days.

“Because I suspect you might have a mark that matches this.”

The blue eye widened.

The door opened, and Tony stepped inside.


	11. Snow (Steve/Tony & Peter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve braves the cold he hates to play in the snow with the family he loves.

“Come on, Papa! Uncle Clint and Aunt Tasha are already outside, an’ Daddy an’ me have our coats an’ hats an’ everything, an’ you don’t even have your _shoes_ on!”

“That’s because I’m staying in here to make you all hot chocolate to warm up when you come back in,” Steve explained as he started pulling out the necessary ingredients. “But you go have fun!”

“Yeah, come on, Petey,” Tony tried to coax their son toward the door. “Papa doesn’t like the cold, remember?”

“But how can you not like _snow??_” Peter demanded with the righteousness of a six-year-old who believes that some things, like playing in the snow, should be universally adored.

“He just wants to stay warm inside, and that’s okay,” Tony said firmly, and Steve went over and pulled him by the scarf to give him a quick kiss.

“Ugh, stop kissing, let’s _go_...” Peter insisted, and Tony and Steve shared a grin before Tony followed along behind their son.

~

Steve had agreed to come to this remote cabin in upstate New York for the holidays, because even though he didn’t like the cold, he appreciated getting away from it all with his found family--not just his husband and son, but the whole team, all of whom would eventually be joining them in the large multi-bedroom cabin.

Now, Steve smiled as he heard the laughs and shrieks of merriment from outside as he started a pot on the stove for good old-fashioned hot chocolate. After losing everything once, he knew how important it was to spend time with loved ones.

He was halfway through chopping the chocolate when he heard a bubbling laugh and groan of _“Dad-dyyyy!”_ He looked at the door.

Spend time with loved ones.

Steve put down the knife and turned off the stove.

~

When Steve came out, wrapped up in enough layers he might be warm enough but could still move, his tactical eye surveyed the snowball fight taking place a short distance away.

On one side, Tony and Nat were half-hidden behind a large built-in grill, the latter having apparently done a much better job at avoiding incoming snowballs than his snow-covered husband. On the other, Clint sat about five feet up in a snow-covered swing set, while Peter handed him snowballs after only loosely packing them in small, mitten-covered hands. Clint’s aim was as impeccable as always--hitting Tony’s shoulder as he popped out to throw his own snowball that flew off its mark at the impact--but Peter just wasn’t able to make new ammo fast enough, and didn’t have the strength to throw a ball the distance between the two “forts.”

So Steve headed over to join his son’s team.

“Papa!” Peter shouted in joy when he realized Steve had come out to join them after all. He ran over to hug Steve, not noticing that the others paused the fight to avoid hitting the kid during the “reunion.” (Though Steve noticed Nat did manage to nail Clint while he was distracted.) “You gotta help me an’ Uncle Clint!”

“Sure thing, kiddo,” Steve promised, returning the hug, then allowing Peter to lead him to the fort.

“Wait, this is suddenly not fair!” Tony protested, but the smile on his face was as wide and happy as Peter’s had been at seeing Steve out here with them.

“Well, time to work on your strategy, then,” Steve suggested, packing a light ball and throwing it squarely in Nat’s face.

“Oh, it is _on_, Rogers!” she shouted after brushing the snow away.

After the snowball fight (eventually declared a truce if only because no one was actually keeping score), they built a snowman (an Iron-Snow-Man, Peter insisted on, making it an “arc reactor” with a disc-shaped rock he’d found nearby), went sledding on a short but sufficiently steep hill (though Steve refused to let Tony use his shield as a sled), and made snow angels (Clint giving Tony’s “devil horns”, which nearly led to Snowball War II).

Through it all, there were moments when Steve was briefly distracted by the cold, by the chill seeping into his bones and gripping his heart.

But all it took was a hug from his son, a punch on the arm from Nat, a terrible joke from Clint, or a kiss on the cheek from Tony, to bring him back to the here and now. To his family, who would always keep him warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note for this chapter: I’m not saying “spending time with loved ones is sufficient reason to expose yourself to situations you know are traumatic for you.” In this case, Steve decides his risk and degree of possible traumatic reactions are low enough to be worth the extra time with his family. If this is ever not the case for you, do what you need to do to take care of yourself.


	12. Dragon (Steve & Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Former knight Steve hears about a dangerous dragon and goes to take action.

“Did you hear? Justin Hammer gave it a try yesterday. Said he barely got out alive, but that he managed to slice a wing.”

“No shit?”

“I’m just surprised Hammer didn’t piss himself!”

One of the loud men at the bar looked over at Steve, and down at the sword on his belt. “Hey, stranger, you look like a strong fighter. You here to give it a go?”

Steve looked up from his ale. Since leaving the knighthood, he’d been wandering, not sure if he was looking for rest or a new sense of purpose, but figuring the former was more likely in this small town. The men, rowdy though they were, now had his curiosity piqued. “Sorry, give what a go?”

“The dragon up Stark Mountain! Lots o’ folk come from all over to try to kill the dragon, but no one’s managed it yet. Most come back nearly fried to a crisp, or with deep cuts from those razor-sharp claws. ‘F you’re lookin’ for fame or glory, you should give it a shot!”

Steve raised his eyebrows. Maybe there would be something to do here after all. Though the “most come back” claim seemed odd, from what he knew of dragons. “Does the dragon endanger the townsfolk?”

“Of course!” came one man’s reply, while others gave mixed grumbles. “Well, it carries off some of the livestock, and once kidnapped a young lady!”

“I’ve told you a thousand times, he did not kidnap me,” came a frustrated feminine voice from the other side of the room.

Steve looked over to see a slender red-headed woman, who’d previously been bent over some papers, was now looking up and frowning. “Ma’am?” he asked.

“I wasn’t kidnapped, I was lost in a snowstorm. The dragon gave me shelter, then helped me find my way home the next morning.”

“It warped Miss Potts’ mind!” the loudest of the men at the bar protested. “Tried to poison her against her own kind, to lead us to the slaughter. We’ve got to kill it before it kills all of us.”

Steve turned back to the man. “Have _you_ tried?”

“Me? Oh, no, I’m not strong enough to take on such a beast. But you, you look more than capable of dealin’ it a good bit o’ damage at least!”

“Perhaps,” Steve said, noncommittally. He looked back toward the woman, Miss Potts, who frowned and shook her head, looking almost beseeching at Steve.

Perhaps he would pay this dragon a visit.

~

Steve looked around the cave. It was a more furnished than he’d expected a dragon’s lair to be, a large cushion near a metal table, another few cushions of varying sizes in the corners, a wall hanging depicting a blue and gold dragon soaring through the sky, various metal odds and ends sitting around. No pile of gold and gems, as dragons were supposed to hoard, but Steve supposed one might be in a nearby cavern. There was a clanging sound coming from somewhere, but the cavern was too large and echoing to determine which direction the sound was coming from.

“Hello?” he shouted into the large space.

The clanging stopped.

Then, from his left, a huge reptilian form emerged.

This dragon was red and gold, not the one from the tapestry. It stood nearly three times Steve’s height, and its wings looked like they might span forty feet stretched out, though they were pulled in at the moment, one wrapped in a pale linen that showed traces of a deep brown stain that might be dried blood. Sharp claws clacked on the ground as it walked toward Steve.

The dragon looked rather annoyed. “Not another one. Can’t I have a break for even two days?” came a tired masculine voice, not as loud or deep as Steve had expected, almost human-sounding. The dragon stared down at Steve. “I suppose not. You’re here to try to slay me, too, aren’t you?”

“I don’t like bullies,” Steve answered, not drawing his sword.

“And I’m a dragon, so I must be a bully?”

“No. In this case, it seems you’re the one being bullied.”

The dragon’s head jerked back in surprise. “That’s... that’s ridiculous, a dragon being bullied.”

“You don’t attack the people in town, apparently only eating animals. People come up here to attack you, and you could probably kill them all, but you don’t, do you?”

The dragon looked... regretful? “There have been a few I’ve had to kill or they’d have killed me. The rest, I manage to scare or nonfatally injure, and they give up and leave.”

“And you helped a young lady from the town, a Miss Potts?”

“Pepper,” the dragon said, fangs revealing themselves as he smiled. “She...” he paused, looking at Steve assessingly for a moment, before continuing, “Don’t tell the other townsfolk, but she visits me sometimes, brings me supplies.”

That would explain the couple of cushions too small for the dragon’s massive form, if he had a human visitor.

“So if you aren’t here to kill me, why are you here?” the dragon asked.

“I thought I’d offer to help to protect you.”

That startled a laugh out of the dragon. Despite the slightly worrying puff of smoke that accompanied it, the laugh was a pleasant, melodious sound. “You think I can’t protect myself?”

Steve shrugged. “I think anyone can use a brother at arms to fight beside when defending oneself or others. And I think maybe if the townsfolk think to bring a large enough party to attack at the same time, you’re going to get hurt worse than that,” he pointed at the wounded wing. Then he shrugged. “And I think you could use a friend--another, I suppose, since you already have Miss Potts.”

The dragon stared at him for a moment, and while Steve hadn’t thought dragons could cry, he thought one of the large bronze eyes looked a little watery. “I... I think I would like that... friend.” He smiled again, an expression that could have been frightening but instead made Steve feel warm inside.

“Then I’d be glad to be your friend. My name is Steve. And you are?”

“Call me Tony.” The dragon--Tony--looked down at Steve’s sword. “But if you’re going to fight beside me, I think you’ll need something better than that old thing. Let me forge you a new one, or at least improve that one.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “You’re a weaponsmith?”

Tony’s smile turned playful. “Among other things. Come, see my forge...”

Steve followed, sure now that this town--or rather, this mountain, with this dragon--was exactly where he needed to be to renew his purpose in life.


	13. Ash (Steve/Tony & Peter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter’s parents are not happy to discover he ran into a burning building to save a cat.

When the fire truck pulled up to the site, Steve was alarmed to get out and see his teenage son’s best friend Ned standing there, looking in horror at the burning building.

“Ned?” he asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as his coworkers around him started getting the equipment ready.

Ned noticed him and his expression turned to relief, then back to fear. “Peter’s Pop! You’re--you gotta save him, he went in there!”

“Peter’s in there?” Steve asked, heart in his throat. At Ned’s frantic nod, Steve swallowed, looked at the building, then back to Ned. “Any idea where he’d be? Which floor? Front, back, side?”

Ned shrugged helplessly. “Wherever the cat went, I guess. We saw the fire, and we were about to call it in when he saw a cat go in that window there, so he went after it, and I tried to tell him to just leave it to you guys, but he went anyway, and--”

“Got it,” Steve interrupted. “Thanks, Ned.”

He turned to his colleagues, quickly explained the situation, and then headed into the burning building with greater urgency than he’d ever had on this job.

He had to save his son.

~

When Tony pulled up amongst the emergency vehicles, he didn’t even bother taking the keys of his $200,000 car out of the ignition before jumping out and scanning the scene.

Not seeing who he was seeking immediately, he strode desperately toward the two ambulances, brushing past a cop who tried to tell him to stay back.

Finally, turning the corner, Tony slowed, feeling nearly lightheaded with relief at seeing his son in one piece, standing in the back of one of the ambulances. Apart from the oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, and some ash on his clothes, he appeared unharmed. As Tony got closer, he saw the soft smile on Peter’s face through the mask, as he looked down at someone or something on the gurney.

Tony was almost as relieved to see Steve standing on the other side of the gurney with a similar smile, apparently having shed the bulky firefighter uniform to fit comfortably beside the paramedic checking or adjusting something on a monitor. Tony was used to worrying about his husband going into danger on a regular basis due to his job, though he still couldn’t say he enjoyed it.

His son, though...

“What were you _thinking?_” Tony demanded, stepping up into the now-crowded ambulance and pulling his son into a tight hug, then pulling back to look him over. In addition to the oxygen mask, Tony now saw a bandage on one hand, and some scratches on his arms. “Are you okay?” Before giving Peter a chance to answer, he turned to the paramedic. “Is he okay?”

The paramedic seemed momentarily frozen by Tony’s probably intense stare, then asked. “Excuse me, who are you, Sir?”

“Peter’s other father,” Steve answered the paramedic, who seemed appeased.

“Alright. Your son will be fine. Some smoke inhalation, so he’ll need to be on oxygen for a bit longer, but overall his vitals look good. Minor burn on one hand and some scratches, those should heal within a few days. No hospitalization needed.”

Tony breathed a heavy sigh of relief... and only then noticed what was on the gurney.

A grey cat, and three tiny scraggly-looking kittens. One of the kittens was fidgeting with what seemed to be a tiny version of the oxygen mask Peter had, while the other two kittens nursed from the mother cat. She was lapping at a bowl of water, occasionally pausing to glance over at the masked kitten as if to make sure it was still there.

“Um. What?” Tony asked, looking in confusion at the paramedic, then Steve, then Peter.

Peter started to lift the mask away from his face, presumably to answer the question, but Tony pointed a finger at him and said, “No. Not you.” He looked back to Steve, brows raised.

Steve sighed. “Ned--he was here earlier, but his parents took him home--said they saw the cat go into the burning building, so Peter followed it.”

Here, both Steve and Tony turned to give their son a disapproving look, but Peter just shrugged, gesturing at the animals on the table as if to say “What else could I do?”

“She was apparently going in to save her kittens,” Steve continued, “So Peter helped out, somehow getting them all into his backpack and getting almost to the door before the fire blocked him. That’s when we came in, so thankfully he wasn’t in there for very long.”

Tony sighed, wishing his son hadn’t picked up his pop’s noble, heroic, self-sacrificing traits. He looked at Peter, trying to just feel relieved the kid was (mostly) okay.

“Never do that again, understood? And you know we’re not keeping them, right?”

Peter frowned, but nodded contritely.

~

They ended up keeping all four. The mother cat was named Ash, and the kittens Ember, Smoky, and Blaze.

The cats were mischievous, destructive, sweet, and loving, just like the boy who had saved their lives.


	14. Overgrown (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky gets Tony a present that he really shouldn’t have.

After the mission with Steve and Thor, Bucky stopped by the workshop even though he knew Tony was in the common kitchen (the lasagne had smelled delicious when he’d passed through for a welcome-home kiss).

But before changing into more relaxing clothes, he wanted to drop off the gift he’d picked up for his boyfriend. The splash of color on the barren alien landscape had caught his eye, and the bright blue petals had reminded him of Tony’s arc reactor, so he’d plucked one flower and placed it gently in his pocket before they headed home.

Now he hoped it wasn’t too damaged from the trip. Reaching into his pocket, he was happy to see the petals remained intact, just as beautiful as before.

Hmm. Was it bigger than it had been before?

Figuring the setting just made it look different, he used a nearby mug as a vase and left it on the counter for Tony to find later.

~

Bucky woke to a blaring alarm. He was up more quickly than his boyfriend, already throwing on clothes over his boxers as Tony asked, “JARVIS, what’s goin’ on?”

“There is a... situation in your workshop.”

That got Tony moving faster, summoning the suit to him immediately. “Intruder?”

“I do not believe so. The best description might be an unexpected growth.”

“...what?”

~

Bucky and Tony made it to the workshop before anyone else.

Well, outside the workshop. Because getting in wasn’t going to be easy.

Bucky stared at the thicket of leaves and vines, the greenery all that was visible through the glass walls. Well, most was behind the glass, but some had apparently managed to break through and was actively crawling its way along the outside of the walls, like a time-lapse video of ivy growing up a building.

“What. The. Hell,” Tony demanded, faceplate up so his incredulous expression was visible as he took in the scene.

Then Bucky noticed the growth wasn’t entirely green. There were patches of color.

A very familiar blue.

“Oh, crap,” he said, then looked back at Tony, “I’m so sorry.”

Tony looked confused, then his eyes narrowed. “...for what?”

“I... may have brought you a flower that reminded me of you. From the alien planet.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “You--!” He cut himself off, took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “Honey, I love you, and I love that you thought of me, but maybe next time just take a picture instead of bringing an alien organism back and then leaving it unattended _in my workshop_?”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, “I’m realizing that now.” He winced. “Sorry.”

“We’re going to take care of this,” Tony said firmly, “And then I’m going to show you _Little Shop of Horrors_ so you can see how this could’ve been even worse.”

Bucky opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly there was an animalistic growl from inside the workshop.

Tony sighed. “I knew that was a mistake the second I said it...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second [WinterIron fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17214488) I've written where they have to deal with aggressive flora...


	15. Legend (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The legend is not the man.

Natasha proposes the game a few days after the team (minus Thor, who’s still in Asgard) moves into the newly-branded Avengers Tower, when Steve nearly blows up at Clint for joking Cap would “turn him in” for driving over the speed limit.

“Well, we have all heard a lot about Captain America. We don’t really know Steve Rogers yet,” Natasha points out. “How about we take turns telling you things we’ve heard, and you can tell us if they’re true, partly true, or false?”

“The man versus the legend. I like it,” Tony says.

Steve looks somewhere between tempted and worried. “I won’t promise to answer everything.”

“Of course,” Natasha agrees easily, “And it’s up to you if you want to clear up more details in your answer or leave some of the mystery.”

Steve nods. “And--every time I answer, I get to ask about something in return. I might not have the same history on you all that everyone seems to have on Captain America, but I’ve read your files, heard stories, seen videos.”

His eyes very briefly flick to Tony at that last word, which piques his curiosity. He _probably_ hadn't seen the nude ones... right?

“That’s fair. Same rules for us,” Natasha says, Clint and Bruce and Tony agree, and the game begins.

The game starts pretty low-risk:

“Legend says your birthday is the Fourth of July.” (“True.”)

“Legend says your favorite food is apple pie.” (“False.”)

“Legend says you made the Howling Commandos do fifty push-ups for swearing.” (“Partly true.”) (Steve adds, “It was only when they did it in front of kids. The punishment made the kids laugh, which was something a lot of them needed...”)

In return, Steve learns about the team:

“Legend says you grew up in a circus.” (“True.”) (Tony argues that this answer is wrong, because it suggests that Clint actually grew up.)

“Legend says Fury trusts you to take care of his cat when he’s away.” (“Partly true.”) (Natasha’s amused smile makes Tony curious what could be only _partly_ true about that, but she doesn’t say anything more.)

“Legend says your doctoral thesis was about me.” (“Partly true.”) (Bruce looks a little sheepish, saying it was really about Rebirth, and admitting it was hard to find non-classified information on the medical details.)

“Legend says you’ve dated both men and women.” (“True.”) (“Plus some somewhere in between,” Tony adds, a little surprised but relieved to find Steve doesn’t seem at all bothered by his answer.)

Then they start hitting a little harder:

“Legend says the Howling Commandos once holed up in a brothel and everyone got laid except you.” (“Partly true.”) (Tony is disappointed Steve doesn’t specify which part is true, but he enjoys the blush regardless.)

“Legend says Rebirth doubled the size of your dick.” (“False.”) (Tony nearly chokes on his beer when Steve adds, “Thankfully, since it was already hard to find underwear that fit.”)

“Legend says you and Bucky Barnes were romantically involved.” (“...False.”) (The pause before that answer is... interesting.)

There are some questions that don’t get an answer at all, but most do, and the game helps them all get to know each other, to feel a little more comfortable living together.

~

After finding an enlightening photo from Tony’s college years, followed by an intense talk with Rhodey, Steve goes to see Tony in his workshop.

“Hey, Cap, what’s up?”

Steve smiles. “Legend says you had a crush on Captain America when you were in college.”

Tony stills. He’s silent for a moment, before answering quietly, “True.” He doesn’t say anything more.

Steve takes a few steps closer, not as sure about this one as Rhodey was. “Legend says you have feelings for me now.”

Tony turns away, and Steve’s heart plummets. “Yeah, well, legend says I’ll never be good enough for Captain America, so that doesn’t matter, does it?”

The biting tone stings, but not as much as the knowledge that Tony _believes_ this. And it doesn’t take long for Steve to figure out who “legend” is in this instance.

“Steve Rogers says legend is full of shit.”

Tony looks back at him in surprise.

“You’re brilliant, you’re funny, and you hide how much you care, but you’re willing to put it all on the line as much as or more than the rest of us. You’ve given us... me... a home. You’re more than good enough, Tony, whatever shit your father might have told you. You’re incredible.”

Tony’s eyes are huge.

“Now, it’s okay if you don’t have feelings for me, but if you do, I’d really like to take you on a date.”

Tony’s mouth opens and shuts a few times, before finally he smiles. “Legend says I’d be crazy to turn down a date with Steve Rogers.”


	16. Wild (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In fairness, wolf Bucky didn’t know the parrot was another shifter...

Had Bucky been in human form, he might have wondered what an exotic bird was doing in the forests of New York. He might have contemplated the beauty of the bright red and yellow feathers, and pondered whether it was a pet escaped from some wealthy eccentric’s home.

As it was, in wolf form, Bucky saw the flashing feathers and thought _PREY_.

He leapt.

~

Tony loved flying.

As much as he enjoyed building, creating, and making use of the world of human invention, sometimes he needed an escape. As a parrot, the joy of soaring over the trees overtook any human concerns like deadlines, stocks, and public relations disasters. He was wild and free, if only until he had to change back again.

Partway through one such escape he was taking a brief rest, perched on a low branch near a lake and looking out at the sparkling water, when his instincts shouted _DANGER!_

He took to the sky--an instant too late.

Something pierced his wing and dragged him to the ground, then he was pinned by a huge furry paw.

With flight impossible, he had to do something. Whatever was attacking him, he’d have slightly better chances as a human than as a small, grounded bird.

He _shifted_.

~

Bucky yelped when the prey he had pinned suddenly changed, feathers giving way to tanned skin, tiny body growing quickly man-sized.

A man with a bleeding forearm, squirming to get away from the wolf on top of him.

_Shit._

Bucky jumped backward off the man, then shifted back himself.

“Crap, I’m so, so, sorry!” he panted out, once he could speak.

The man stopped his frantic motion away from the threat and stared back at Bucky. “_Oh_,” he said, eyes drifting down Bucky’s naked body, not seeming to care he was just as nude (and rather attractive himself, not that Bucky was looking). “Hello, handsome,” he said, “Fancy meeting another shifter out here. I’m Tony, and you are?”

“Uh, Bucky. You... you realize you’re flirting with me while your arm is gushing blood, right?” Bucky looked around in the hopes of finding something to stanch the blood with.

Tony looked down at his arm, wincing. “Right, there’s that. Well, I wouldn’t say it’s _gushing_...”

Bucky grabbed some leaves off a nearby tree he thought would be safe (though antibiotics were certainly in the guy’s future once they got him to real medical care) and handed them to Tony, who hesitantly took them. “Here, hold these on the wound. You gonna be okay here while I shift and go run for help? I’d offer to carry you, but that would be tricky at your current size and you shifting again might make the wound worse...”

“Or you could just stay here with me until my ride shows up,” Tony suggested, leaning down to push a button on some sort of small device attached to an elastic anklet Bucky hadn’t noticed.

Tracking device with a signal of some sort? “Huh. That’s conveni--” Bucky interrupted himself as the other man swayed while standing back up, catching him and then guiding him so they were both sitting on a nearby rock. “Whoa there, how about _not_ passing out because of the wound I gave you?” He put a hand over the leaves to keep pressure on the wound.

“Not your fault,” Tony murmured, leaning a little into Bucky, who tried very hard not to think about the fact that they were both naked. “Animal side takes over, I get it, it’s...” He trailed off.

“Stay awake, doll,” Bucky coaxed. “Come on, tell me about that anklet of yours. If it stays on when you’re in bird form, isn’t it too tight as a human?”

“Okay, first,” Tony says, seeming to wake up a bit, “‘Doll’ makes you sound like a 1920s gangster... but I think I like it, so feel free to keep saying that.”

Bucky chuckled.

“Second, the anklet is a special elastic I made that accounts for shifting. Haven’t figured out how to make clothes out of it yet, though I’ve been told I have no shame so it’s not exactly a priority. The anklet’s good for situations like this where I need help getting home, though. Help should be here in about twenty minutes.”

“That’s really handy,” Bucky said. “How much would you charge to make me something like that?”

“Tell you what,” Tony proposed, “I’ll give you one as a gift on our third date.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “Are you always this forward with strange shifters you meet in the woods?”

“Only if they catch me,” Tony retorted with a grin. “So is that a Yes to the date, or what?”

“You never actually asked, but--yes, Tony, I’d love to.”


	17. Ornament (Tony & Avengers Team)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers’ family Christmas tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried, but nothing non-Christmasy came to me for this prompt, so this sap happened.

Tony didn’t much care for decorating for Christmas. He let Pepper arrange for the decoration of the huge fancy tree in the lobby, and figured that was enough.

But at some point in late November, a six-foot, slightly lopsided, actual spruce tree appeared in the common room. (Well, not appeared as in _*poof*_, which wasn’t outside the realm of possibility given some of the things they’d seen. Tony assumed someone had brought it in, he just hadn’t bothered to ask who.)

It wasn’t decorated at first, or all at once. Instead, every day or two something new showed up on the tree.

First, a string of lights... which were all purple. It should have looked silly, which was probably Clint’s intent, but Tony had to admit it looked kind of pretty.

Next, a few well-crafted nutcracker ornaments appeared, which Tony suspected came from Natasha.

Then came several traditional bauble ornaments, each carefully hand-painted with the face of someone on the team. That had to have been Steve.

Tony wouldn’t have known who the delicate lace angels had come from, if he hadn’t seen a patch of matching lace on the floor of Wanda’s room the day before before they appeared.

The next decoration looked like tinsel or frost at first, but upon closer inspection turned out to be strands of Peter’s webbing, carefully draped to avoid it sticking to any of the more precious decorations.

Tony knew the green candy canes had to be from Rhodey, and knew from experience to avoid them. (Unlike Clint, who shouted in disgust when he discovered they were pickle-flavored.)

Sam’s candy-cane-shaped gingerbread cookies, on the other hand, had all been eaten within hours of appearing on the tree.

The next ornaments were almost translucent wooden orbs that glowed from within. Tony wanted to ask Thor what the science within them was, but didn’t for fear the answer would involve magic instead.

Tony laughed when he saw the test tube and Erlenmeyer flask ornaments, glad Bruce was getting into the spirit, despite sometimes seeming more of a humbug about the season than Tony could be.

Most surprising to Tony was a small holographic orb of a familiar pattern of lights. It was JARVIS’ neural pattern; FRIDAY had her own unique signature, so this ornament must have been crafted specifically for Tony’s former AI. Vision was sitting on the couch nearby chatting with Wanda, but when he noticed Tony’s eyes on him, Vision gave a quiet tilt of his head. Tony swallowed hard, touched by the creation.

On Christmas Eve, Tony looked at the now almost completely covered tree. It was crowded, messy, and the most beautiful tree he’d ever seen. But...

“How come nobody’s put anything on top?” Tony asked.

Steve, who’d been sketching quietly in the corner, looked up. “I think everyone’s been assuming you would,” he answered matter-of-factly.

“...Oh.”

On Christmas morning, an arc reactor atop the tree shone down upon the scene of a team, a family, sharing gifts, laughter, and love.


	18. Misfit (Tony & Steve & Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony’s first day at a new school is rough, but it gets better.

“Hey, rich boy, school lunch not good enough for you? Bet this is some real fancy food, huh?”

Tony tensed as two muscular older kids took positions on either side of him, one grabbing his lunch bag from the table in front of him before he could see what Jarvis had packed him. The other slapped a heavy hand on his shoulder, holding him firmly on the uncomfortable cafeteria bench.

He’d known he’d never fit into a normal public school after spending years at elite boarding schools, where the bullying was all tough talk about parents’ money and power, rather than physical intimidation or violence. Unfortunately, until Tony’s dad was exonerated from the dirty business dealings found in Stark Industries’ files, most of the Starks’ assets were frozen and they couldn’t afford to keep Tony at the Academy.

So he was stuck going to seventh grade at a local school, getting dirty looks for still having nicer clothes and supplies than everyone, and being smarter than everyone, and generally not knowing anything about this new world he was stuck in.

The kid with Tony’s lunch bag reached in and pulled out a sandwich, opened the bag, and took a huge bite, grinning down at Tony. “Hey, pretty good, I’ll keep this,” he said, and passed the bag to his friend.

“Hey!” Tony tried to grab it, but the first kid smacked his hand, and the humiliation stung worse than the slap.

The second kid reached in and pulled out a small yellow flower--a marigold, Tony’s favorite, which Jarvis must’ve included to make him feel better on his first day in an unfamiliar place. The kid laughed, “What’s this, a flower from Mommy?” and threw it on the floor, stomping on it.

“No!” Tony shouted, tears threatening in his eyes, but he knew crying now would only make everything worse.

“Leave him alone.”

Tony startled, looking around for the owner of the voice--he sounded young, about Tony’s age, but commanding, like he expected to be obeyed.

But then Tony spotted the voice’s apparent owner--a short, skinny blond kid, tiny fists raised threateningly. “I said leave him alone,” the kid repeated.

The big guy who’d just crushed Tony’s flower laughed. “Get out of here, Rogers, this doesn’t concern you.”

“It does if you’re gonna keep pickin’ on someone who doesn’t deserve it.”

“You really want us to beat you into the ground again?” the other bully threatened.

Tony stared at his tiny would-be rescuer, shaking his head, but the kid held firm. “I think I can get a few hits in first. I’m up for it if you are.”

“Me, too,” said a voice from behind him.

For a brief moment Tony had hope the scrawny kid had a big, beefy friend to help out. The brunet behind him was definitely bigger, decently built... but apparently had only one arm. His left sleeve was pinned up to his shoulder, while his right arm was up in a fist, as ready for the horribly unbalanced fight as his blond friend was.

“Wait, remind me, Brock, how many detentions before you’re expelled?” the one-armed kid asked.

The kid who’d eaten Tony’s sandwich tensed, then scowled. “Come on, Jack, let’s go, they’re not worth it.”

Tony breathed a sigh of relief as they left, grateful not only that the bullies were leaving him alone, but that he wouldn’t have to watch two other kids get beat into the ground for trying to help him.

“You guys are crazy,” Tony said, “But thanks. I knew I wasn’t gonna fit in here, I’d just thought eating lunch by myself would be the worst that would happen.”

“Well, now you don’t gotta,” the brunet said.

“Buck, we can’t just invite ourselves--”

“I wasn’t, I just said he don’t gotta sit by himself if he don’t wanna--”

“But you didn’t say--”

“I can sit with you?” Tony interrupted hopefully.

The bickering friends looked back at him. “Of course,” the blond said. “I’m Steve, and this is Bucky.”

“I’m Tony.”

“Nice to meet you, Tony,” Steve said. “Sit with us, an’ I’ll share my lunch with you since Brock ate some o’ yours.”

“Yeah, an’ don’t worry about not fittin’ in. We’re expert misfits, we’ll show you the ropes in no time,” Bucky promised with a grin.

Maybe this school wouldn’t be so bad after all...


	19. Sling (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony doesn’t want to wear his sling, but Steve doesn’t want him to hurt himself.

When the door to the workshop opens and Steve walks in, Tony unthinkingly raises his left arm in greeting...

And immediately regrets it.

He winces as pain shoots through his shoulder, but tries to hide it, quickly smiling at his boyfriend. “Hey, sunshine, wanna see the upgrades I’m working on?”

His masterful attempt at diversion is apparently unsuccessful, as Steve’s face now ranks at about a 4 on the 5-point _Captain America is Disappointed in You_ scale. (A 5 tends to be reserved for teammates who endanger themselves or others, or news anchors who expect Captain America to be as racist or homophobic as they are.) “Why aren’t you wearing your sling?”

Tony sighs, glaring over at the pile of fabric and straps on a table. “It’s distracting; it doesn’t let me move normally.”

“That’s the _point_, Tony. You’re not supposed to be moving your shoulder, or it could get worse instead of better.”

“I know...” He does. He’s worn slings before, but he doesn’t know why this time it’s so irritating. Maybe because the other times he was in enough pain everywhere it was easy to remember why he was wearing it, and this time it’s just a shoulder injury that only hurts if he moves it wrong, so the straps are more distracting than the pain. “I just don’t like feeling held back, for such a minor injury.”

Steve studies him, and Tony can see that tactical mind at work. At last, he says, “I have an idea. Turn back to what you were doing.” 

“O... kay,” Tony agrees, and obeys (like he always does, except for the times when Tony knows his way is better, which is probably more often than Steve would like).

When he’s facing his holographic designs again, he hears Steve come up behind him, feels arms come around his waist. Steve’s hands come to hold Tony’s left arm in place, leaving his right arm still mostly mobile, and Steve’s face rests besides Tony’s ear, murmuring, “Is this okay?”

Not answering immediately, Tony reaches out to give the hologram a spin, picks out a piece to manipulate one-handed, and makes a tweak. He can feel his left arm wanting to come up and help out, but Steve’s warm hands are firm, holding it immobile, preventing him from shifting his injured shoulder in the slightest.

It probably won’t be any less distracting than the sling, but it’s... nice. Steve’s arms around him, the solid presence at his back, bring the comforting feeling of being cared for. Instead of frustrating straps holding him in place, he has a loving boyfriend holding him, just wanting to keep him from hurting himself.

He realizes this too might start driving him crazy after a while, but for now... “Yeah. This is good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Steve places a soft kiss on his neck, then lets him get back to work.


	20. Tread (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is working on his escape from a kidnapping when he hears a familiar tread.

Tony held perfectly still in the janitor’s closet, waiting for the sound of footsteps to pass.

He’d managed to escape from the cell where his kidnappers (goddamn Hydra, again, would they ever get rid of them?) had been holding him, but had yet to make it out of the facility. He hadn’t even gotten his hands on a weapon better than the spray bottle of bleach he’d found in the closet. So when he’d heard multiple groups of footsteps passing by, he’d decided to wait it out rather than risk a confrontation.

Finally, the footsteps faded and there was silence. Tony thought it might be safe to get out of here.

But as he put a hand on the door, he heard footsteps again. He fought back a sigh.

Except... this seemed to be just one pair of footsteps. Maybe he could take a single Hydra agent, if he could spray them in the eyes with the bottle of bleach before they got off a shot.

Tony again prepared to open the door, hoping to time this perfectly as they passed, but then he realized--

That tread was familiar. He knew who was passing by, and they weren’t Hydra.

Not anymore.

Keeping the bottle in hand but down at his side, Tony opened the door and whistled. “Bucky-bear!”

The surprised soldier swung his rifle to point at Tony, then immediately lowered it. “Tony!” Simultaneously relieved and worried eyes scanned his body. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“Nothing serious, and I’m all the better since hearing your murder strut coming to my rescue,” Tony grinned.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Murder strut?”

“Yep, that stride you have when you know what you’re after and will maim or murder anyone who gets in your way--you know, either in battle, or when you know there’s only one cupcake left in the kitchen. I knew it was you out here when I heard that glorious murder strut.”

“You’re ridiculous, doll,” Bucky said. “But--I am going to murder anyone who tries to take you again. Let’s get you out of here, okay?”

“Sounds good to me,” Tony agreed. “Murder strut away!”


	21. Treasure (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pirate Captain Rogers boards a ship in search of a very particular treasure.

When the _Avenger_ pulled up alongside the ship they’d subdued, Captain Rogers was first aboard, trusting his crew to have his back. Bucky Barnes, his first mate, followed close behind.

The crew of the other ship looked torn between defending their captain, and avoiding the fire of the pirates carefully watching their every move, rifles aimed and steady.

Steve himself preferred a sword to a gun, brandishing his blade with ease as he approached the captain of the ship he’d just boarded. “Stone. I’m here for your greatest treasure.”

“Of course you are,” sneered Tiberius Stone, “You’re a filthy pirate. But you’ll be disappointed to find we’ve not much gold aboard at the moment. You’ve wasted your time and injured my ship for nothing.”

“I hope not,” Steve replied coolly, “But _gold_ is not what I’m after.”

~

Tony worked frantically to put his new and improved pistol back together. He should’ve had it ready, but honestly he hadn’t expected the ship to be set upon by pirates on the way back from purchasing supplies.

There was also the fact that he didn’t much care about defending his husband or his ship, since Ty seemed to care more for what Tony could make for him or how he looked on the captain’s arm than for Tony as a person.

No, Tony didn’t love his husband. He’d known true love once, but a son of nobility like Tony Stark would never have been permitted to wed a servant boy like Steve Rogers. So instead he’d been married off to Tiberius Stone and whisked away to the nobleman’s elaborate homestead, likely never to see his dear Steve again.

At least he was left alone more often than not, which suited his preferences just fine, and he was permitted to accompany his husband when trading for supplies and wares, some of which Tony could use for his own inventions. If Ty insisted on Tony producing a high volume of creations for him to sell off and brag about, at least Tony enjoyed the act of creating.

Now, tucked away in the captain’s cabin while pirates boarded, Tony wasn’t set on defending his husband or lifestyle, but if the pirates decided to kill everyone on board, or perhaps sell him into slavery, that wouldn’t be an improvement upon his current circumstances. So he finished assembling his pistol, then crept out on deck to see what exactly the pirates’ intentions were.

He was shocked to hear a familiar voice: “But _gold_ is not what I’m after.”

~

“_Steve??_ Is that really you?”

Steve’s heart soared to hear that familiar voice. “Tony!” he shouted, not caring at the moment that the ecstatic grin on his face was probably ruining his appearance as a cold-hearted pirate. All he cared about was the fact that the man he’d loved, whom he hadn’t seen for years, was now standing a mere dozen feet away, gaping at him.

“What in the heavens are you doing? Are you a _pirate_ now?”

“More or less,” Steve confessed. “And I’m here for you. That is, if you want to come with me.” He was prepared to accept that Tony may not have held onto the feelings they’d shared so many years ago, but when he’d learned of this opportunity he’d had to take the chance.

“I--”

“You are not taking my husband, I _forbid_ it!” Stone shouted, and he was suddenly reaching for a gun at his belt--

Then crying out as a bullet pierced his hand, forcing him to drop the weapon.

Steve blinked. That shot hadn’t come from Bucky beside him, from Clint in the _Avenger_’s crow’s nest, or from anyone else on his crew.

The shot had come from the pistol in Tony’s hand.

“Sorry, husband, but I can’t have you shooting the man I love.” Tony’s eyes met Steve’s, and the pirate saw in them the longing he himself had been feeling for so long. “Yes, I’ll come with you, my beloved.”

Stone was now clasping his bleeding hand, cursing and threatening Tony as his eyes blazed in fury. Thankfully, his crew seemed stunned, or still wary enough of the pirates, that no one else moved to raise a weapon.

Steve held a hand out to Tony, who took it, and they made their way across to the _Avenger_.

Bucky guarded their exit, waving the hook of his left arm as he quipped cheerfully, “Better get that wound looked at soon, don’t want it to get infected!” before following.

~

Aboard the _Avenger_ as she sailed away, Steve held Tony tightly in his arms. “I thought I’d never see you again. I can’t believe you’re here in my arms.”

“Neither can I,” Tony admitted, holding him just as tightly, “And I can’t believe you went and became a _pirate_! Such a sweet young servant boy, now engaging in high seas robbery and treasure hunting!” There was no judgement in Tony’s voice, just surprise and amusement.

“It’s a long story,” Steve replied, “But by far the most important treasure I’ve found is now here in my arms.”

“Still the hopeless romantic.” Tony pulled him in for a deep kiss, ignoring the whistles and cheers of the crew around them.


	22. Ghost (Bucky & Maria & Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria haunts the man who murdered her and her husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Brief, interrupted suicide attempt (Bucky trying to escape Hydra). Also, canon character death (Tony’s parents).

He first sees the woman when he’s in the chair, about to be wiped again.

He thinks he’s seen women here before, even well-dressed ones, but there’s something off about her even before she starts screaming.

He wonders why no one else in the room reacts to the sound, why no one shoots her or orders him to kill her. Then he remembers her, recognizes her: the woman in the car with the target, the one he’d strangled. Is he going to be punished for not completing the job?

“You!” she shouts. “You killed my husband!”

She reaches for him, and still none of the technicians or the handler react, so he doesn’t move, and--her arms go through him. She stumbles, seems to be standing half inside him, then jumps backward, stumbling again in her fancy heels.

“What’s--?” She takes a few heaving breaths, then visibly calms herself. “I’m... I’m dead, aren’t I?” She looks at him, fury in her eyes. “I’m dead, because you murdered me. You murdered my husband. So now I suppose I’m haunting you.” She looks around. “Howard? Are you here?” When there’s no reply, she looks back to him. “Well, if it’s just me, I’ll have to do my best on my own to make you regret what you’ve done.”

He doesn’t tell her that a weapon can’t feel regret.

He placidly accepts the mouth guard from the technician, and braces for the pain of the wipe.

He doesn’t see how she reacts to his screams.

~

He’s trying to pay attention to the mission briefing, to see the documents on the target, but the woman is in his way, blocking his vision, and no one else seems to notice or care.

“Why do you do this? Why are you willing to kill for them?” She looks calm yet angry, like some of his handlers before they hit him, but he knows she can’t touch him.

“Soldier, focus,” comes an order he knows he needs to follow, but he can’t see around her. He tries to shift his head, to see behind her, but she just follows his movement.

He can’t even brace for the blow as a fist flies through her face into his jaw.

“Something’s not right. Wipe him again and start over.”

The woman gives him a look of grim satisfaction.

~

She gets in his way at the last second when he’s about to pull the trigger.

The target gets away.

He tracks the target down a day later, but the task is harder with the armed escort, and he takes a couple bullets.

The punishment from his handlers is worse.

The woman doesn’t look satisfied. “I’m... sorry. I’m not sorry I tried to stop you, but I’m sorry for what you’re going through now.”

~

“Let’s talk.” The woman is looking out the window of the one-room safehouse. “I know who you are, Bucky Barnes.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Would you prefer James?”

He doesn’t respond.

“It’s your name.”

He shakes his head. He doesn’t have a name.

“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes, and you knew my husband, and you were a good man, once.”

“I’m not a man. I’m a weapon.”

She sighs. He doesn’t remember clearly, but he thinks she used to be angry. Now she’s just sad.

“You don’t have to let them use you. Run away. Find yourself.”

He shakes his head. But after a moment, he asks, “What’s your name?”

Her eyes widen in surprise, but then she smiles. “Maria. Maria Stark.”

~

He doesn’t want to do this.

For a moment, he’s determined to take the only way out he knows.

But when he puts the gun to his head, the woman--Maria--says, “_No_,” and then there’s a cold sensation as she moves to occupy his space, and then his hand is moving down, but he’s not the one moving it.

“_No_, James,” she says again. “Don’t take that way out. Find a better way.”

~

He’s carrying a bag of groceries back to his current safehouse when Maria gasps, and he stops in the middle of the sidewalk to look at her.

She points at the headline on a newspaper at a nearby stand: TONY STARK MISSING IN AFGHANISTAN.

“My son...” she says, then turns pleading eyes to his, “You have to help him!”

“You know I can’t,” he says under his breath, resuming his walk.

But after he completes his mission, instead of reporting back to base, he gets on a plane for Afghanistan.

His handlers find him shortly after he lands, before he has a chance to do anything.

As he’s grunting through the pain of punishment, Maria repeats over and over, “I’m sorry. Thank you for trying. I’m sorry.”

~

“Stop! _Stop_, he’s your friend!” She’s shouting the same things the target is saying, but he can’t listen to either of them. He has to complete his mission.

“...to the end of the line.” That’s... that means something.

_Steve._

The target--_Steve_\--falls out of the helicarrier into the water below.

“Help him,” Maria insists. “You know you need to save him.”

He does.

~

Maria helps him figure out how to get the tracking device out of his arm.

She accompanies him to the Smithsonian, an exhibit that helps him remember more about himself, who he used to be.

She stands guard while he sleeps, shouting to wake him up if there’s any sign he might be found by Hydra again.

Then she asks him to visit her son.

~

Maria’s been tethered to James her entire afterlife. He’s seen headlines, watched news clips, overheard conversations about Tony Stark, about Iron Man. So he knows she’s picked up some information about her son’s life, but she’s never really gotten to see him.

She will now.

James makes an appointment at Stark Industries, then shows up at Tony’s office at the designated time.

When the man opens the door, Maria gasps, hands reaching out to hover near his face. “Oh, mio bambino...” she whispers, shedding the tears of a mother seeing her son for the first time in years.

“Barnes,” Tony greets him, and James realizes Maria’s reaction distracted him from the door being held open, Tony gesturing for him to come in.

James startles slightly to see Iron Man standing motionless in the corner.

Tony shrugs. “Can you blame me for being prepared? I could call the suit from anywhere, but the lecture I’d get from Ms. Potts about the holes in the walls just didn’t seem worth it.”

Maria laughs, seeming to shine simply from being around her son.

“Understandable,” James agrees. “Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Stark.”

“Gotta say, I was surprised to find you on my calendar today. What can I do for you?” Tony glances down at James’ metal arm. “Need some repairs?” He sounds excited about the prospect.

“Told you he’d want a look at that arm,” Maria says with a grin.

James shakes his head. “I have a letter for you.” He pulls out the envelope.

Realizing that trying to have James explain the full truth might be more traumatizing than heartwarming (“I'm here because your ghost mom wants to see you!”), Maria had decided to have him deliver a letter. He’d allowed her to take control of him as she’d done once before, to write the letter in her own hand, knowing Tony would recognize the writing.

He clearly does, and James sees Tony’s eyes change as he reads it, from narrow in suspicion, to wide in surprise, to watery with barely contained tears.

“Where did you get this?” he breathes, and Maria’s ghostly fingers hover around his arms, his hair, his face, trying to offer comfort she can’t physically give.

“I can’t tell you that,” James answers, preferring to remain mysterious than to try to lie. “I just know she’d want you to have it.”

“Thank you,” Tony whispers, and clutches the letter to his chest. For a moment, it almost seems as if he’s leaning into his mother’s hand at his cheek.

Then Maria starts to fade.

She can evidently tell something’s happening, because she turns to James. “Thank you, James. For everything.”

In the last moment before she disappears, she looks back at Tony. “I love you, mio bambino.”

Then she’s gone. James swallows hard. He’s going to miss her.

~

_Mio bambino,_

_You have always been so brilliant, so clever. Like your father, yet I know your creations will outshine his a hundredfold._

_But don’t get so wrapped up in the things you create that you forget about the people in your life. Cherish your friends, your family. Keep them close, don’t push them away._

_Never forget the importance of forgiveness. People may do terrible things, but that doesn’t mean they’re irredeemable. Don’t let them take advantage of you, but if they have a good heart, help them find their way back to the light. Remember, forgiveness can be as healing for you as it is for them._

_Most importantly: Know that your father and I love you more than anything. We’re so proud of you. All we want is for you to live your best life, to be happy and loved and fulfilled._

_I love you, forever and always,_

_Mom_


	23. Ancient (Steve & Tony - or, Steve & the Ancient One talking about Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve talks to the Ancient One about Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Post-Endgame, canonical past Tony/Pepper, canonical character death

When Steve appears at 117A Bleecker Street, the ground seems to shift under him, and despite all the physical advantages the serum has given him, he falls to the floor.

His first thought--some sort of magical defense system, of course, he really should have knocked--is waylaid when he puts a hand on the floor and realizes it’s slippery. It’s just been waxed.

The ridiculousness of that, of Captain America falling on his ass (“America’s ass”, thanks, Scott) due to something as mundane as waxed floors, suddenly has him laughing.

He doesn’t know the last time he’s laughed.

But it’s not long before the laughter gives way to sobs, and then it’s Captain America on his ass on the waxed floor of the Sanctum Sanctorum, crying his eyes out and unable to stop.

He’s alone, but not for long.

A woman in robes appears beside him. She seems to step out of thin air--handy for bypassing the waxed floor problem, Steve supposes, even as he tries to bring his sobs under control and sit up. She slides down gracefully to sit beside him.

She waits, and soon he’s breathing normally again, tear tracks still streaking his face and making his eyes feel gummy.

“Are you the Ancient One?” he asks, voice croaking.

“I am,” she confirms. “I take it you won. At a price.”

Steve takes a slow breath to avoid breaking down into sobs again. “Yes.”

“You lost someone important. Someone important to you.”

He nods. Both are painfully true.

“They took the risks, knowing the stakes?”

“He didn’t want to be involved,” Steve whispers, and tears start flowing again, but at least the sobs don’t return. “He was happy with his life, with his wife and daughter. He didn’t want to risk changing anything, and then he was the one who paid the price. He didn’t want...” Steve swallows hard around the lump in his throat.

The Ancient One turns to look at him, and he forces himself to meet her eyes. “He made the decision. No one forced him?”

“We--” Steve stops. “No. He made the decision.”

“Then respect that. Mourn him, but give his sacrifice the credit he is due.”

Peggy’s words from so long ago drift through his mind: _“Allow Barnes the dignity of his choice.”_

Steve squeezes his eyes shut and hangs his head, suddenly overwhelmed by all the people he’s lost, some more than once.

He takes a deep breath and raises his head. She’s right. Peggy, the Ancient One, they’re right. He needs to respect the sacrifices of the people he loves, not dwell on how the losses hurt him. “Yeah. He’s... the thing is, Tony was always willing to make the sacrifice play, even if I told him otherwise when--” he glances at his wristband, “Well, about three hours ago in this time, I guess.”

The Ancient One looks sharply at him. “Did you regret that? Did you ever admit to him that you were wrong?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think I ever did. And now--”

“Now?” she asks pointedly.

He blinks. “It’s not too late. I can talk to him.” He’ll have to make sure to do it in a way no one thinks he’s _Loki_ again, but... he can talk to Tony again. “It won’t disrupt your time too much for me to do that?”

“Oh, this timeline is already on a different path than it was. Things have... changed.” She looks like she’s not entirely sure what those changes are, but she’s sure they’ve happened. (Loki has the Tesseract, Steve remembers. And... Hydra thinks Captain America is on their side. That’s... going to make this timeline interesting.) “As long as you leave me the Time Stone,” the Ancient One tips her chin down at the briefcase on the floor beside him, “We will manage.”

Right. The actual reason he’s here is not to treat a powerful, practically all-knowing being as his personal therapist. “Yes, of course,” he says, and opens the briefcase.

She reaches in and, somehow without making physical contact with it, pulls the shining green stone out of the case and places it in her necklace.

The stone Strange gave up five years ago (or six years from now) to save Tony’s life, so Tony could sacrifice himself later, when it really mattered, when it saved the entire universe.

Steve needs to talk to Tony.

He doesn’t know what he’s going to say, or how crazy Tony will think he is, but...

He’s going to see Tony again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I came up with this idea for the prompt I wasn't sure how to keep it short, instead of trying to find a way to fix the absurdity of the bench scene, but I figured I could leave the ending here vague enough that things could turn out a little differently than implied by the end of the movie...


	24. Dizzy (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony’s a little out of it after taking a hit in battle. Bucky takes care of him.

They’d almost finished subduing all the huge alien bat things when one smacked Iron Man, hard, and sent him spinning into a brick wall.

Ow.

Tony lay there, wondering how badly the armor must be damaged for the HUD to be displaying such a meaningless blur of light and color.

Then he opened the faceplate and, seeing the way the world spun around him despite the fact that he was laying on the ground, realized maybe it wasn’t the armor that was damaged.

There were sounds in his ear, voices over the comms, but he couldn’t quite make sense of them. He should probably reply.

“Ow,” he said, not sure if he’d activated the comm channel first, but pretty sure he was supposed to have reported more than that. Constructing a complete sentence seemed beyond him at the moment, however.

Then a dark blur appeared in front of the brick-and-sky blur he’d been watching. When he tried to focus, the new blur partially resolved, into about three Buckys, all floating constantly to the left while staying within his vision.

“Hi, Buckys,” he managed. He squinted, trying to see them more clearly. Bucky was pretty, so seeing three of him would be even better. “You’re pretty.”

“You’re concussed,” the Buckys said with one voice. A lovely voice that sounded somehow both amused and worried.

“Thank you,” Tony replied, then thought maybe that wasn’t the right response.

The Buckys said more, but Tony couldn’t make out the words, as he was still trying to squint and see the Buckys more clearly. Now there were only two of them, but they were a little clearer, and there was definitely worry on their faces.

That wasn’t good. Tony tried to stand to comfort them, but the world started spinning even more, and his stomach jolted. Then he was being gently lowered to lie back down. A soft voice in his ear said, “Hey, no, you stay here, okay? Help’s on its way.”

Tony wondered which of the Buckys was holding him. He realized his eyes had closed. The dark inside of his eyelids seemed to be spinning, which was even more disorienting than when the world did it, so he opened his eyes and looked up.

The world was still swaying a bit, but now there was only one Bucky, crouched over him, flesh hand resting on Tony’s armored chest. “Just stay still, okay?”

“Don’t go,” Tony pleaded, hoping the last Bucky stayed.

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, doll,” Bucky replied. “The others’ll wrap up the fight soon and then the paramedics can come in and fix you up, but I’ll stay here with you the whole time.”

“Good, wan’ you to stay with me forever.”

“Forever, huh?” Bucky raised his eyebrows. There was something weird in his expression.

“Forever an’ ever,” Tony said firmly.

“I think usually a date or two generally happens before ideas like forever are discussed, doll.”

Tony didn’t really care about the order of things, but if Bucky did, “We c’n do that. Date’s good.”

Tony felt a hand hold his armored hand, and he wished he weren’t wearing the gauntlet, but retracting it seemed like an impossible task. “How about we talk about this more when you’re feeling a little better, okay?”

“Okay. Gonna throw up,” Tony added as his stomach suddenly clenched.

Bucky gently rolled him onto his side so he could vomit safely on the ground, softly murmuring reassurances the whole time.

~

Later, Tony didn’t remember any of it.

So of course, Bucky recounted every humiliating detail, from the awkward flirting to the gross vomiting, with a small smile on his face the whole time.

“I don’t suppose you could just forget all of that ever happened?” Tony asked hopefully, wishing the hospital bed would come alive and consume him whole.

“I dunno, I’d like to remember that part about goin’ on a date, if you’re still interested, doll.”

“If _I’m_ still interested? I basically threw up all over you!”

“...So is that a yes?”

“Yes, of course!” Tony answered vehemently, then winced as a wave of dizziness returned. “Maybe... in a day or two.”

“Take all the time you need,” Bucky reassured him. “After all, we have forever an’ ever.”


	25. Tasty (Steve/Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High school boys enjoying ice cream on their first date.

Bucky and Steve fought over who was going to pay for the ice cream. When Tony started to take out his own wallet, Steve pushed it down and told him, “Absolutely not,” which distracted him enough that Bucky was gleefully able to hand his cash to the bored cashier.

“Thank you,” Tony said as they waited for their cones. “But I know your families don’t have that much, I could’ve paid for everybody.”

“Sweetheart, _we_ asked _you_ out. We’re not gonna let you pay!” Bucky protested.

“You can get the next one, okay?” Steve offered as a compromise.

Tony looked between the two of them, wide-eyed, like he still couldn’t believe this was happening.

Bucky and Steve had been planning to woo Tony slowly over the course of their senior year. They hadn’t realized until the end of their junior year that the genius was actually graduating already, headed off to MIT come fall. So they’d had to rush their courtship, asking Tony for this first date the week school got out, and hoping a summer of dating might continue into a long-distance relationship, if all went well.

So far, Tony seemed amenable to dating both of them, if charmingly bewildered that they were interested in him. But who wouldn’t be interested in the adorable, witty, generous genius?

After they all got their ice cream, they were headed to the outdoor seating area to enjoy the breezy summer afternoon, when suddenly someone pushed by Tony in a rush, shoving his cone up into his face.

“Hey!”

Steve looked ready to go chase after the guy, who hadn’t seemed to even notice what he’d done, but Tony put one hand on his arm, still holding his half-demolished cone in the other. “No, it’s fine! I don’t want you getting in a fight on our first date, even if he was a jerk.”

“He should’ve at least apologized!” Steve fumed, glaring in the direction the man had gone.

“Yeah, but isn’t it more important for us to help Tony clean up?” Bucky grinned and reached out, using one finger to wipe away some of the purple ice cream from Tony’s face.

Tony’s eyes widened, watching Bucky suck his finger clean. “Uh. Yeah. That’s...”

“Mmm, tasty. Blueberry, right? Mind if I have some more?”

The ice cream was quickly melting from Tony’s now reddening cheeks, but he nodded. Slowly, so Tony could pull away or stop him if he was freaked out, Bucky leaned in and, this time, licked at the purple streaks that still remained.

When he pulled away, Tony’s eyes met his for a moment, then glanced to Steve, and some of his normal cockiness seemed to come back (not that shy Tony wasn’t adorable). “Now don’t be jealous, you can have some, too...” He tilted his cheek toward Steve.

Bucky watched as his boyfriend, often hesitant about public displays of affection, leaned in to give Tony’s cheek a quick peck, then pull back and lick his lips. He smiled. “Buck’s right, real tasty.” He tilted his cone toward Tony. “Wanna try some of mine?”

Tony leaned forward and took a long lick of Steve’s strawberry ice cream, keeping eye contact with him the whole time, and Bucky felt himself heating up despite the pleasant breeze. He took a bite of his own chocolate chocolate chip to cool off, then deliberately dabbed a bit onto his cheek. “How about some of mine?” he asked with a smirk.

Tony laughed, then licked Bucky’s cheek clean.

They enjoyed the rest of their treat in a similar manner, sharing and flirting and laughing. It was silly, and sticky, and a perfect first date.


	26. Dark (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve wasn’t afraid of the dark until Tony got his arc reactor removed.

Steve wasn’t afraid of the dark.

Not until Tony got the surgery to have the shrapnel and arc reactor removed.

After that, several times a night, he would wake up with a start, half asleep and panicking that Tony’s arc reactor had gone out, that his heart had stopped. He would remember in time to stop himself from jostling Tony awake, but instead would carefully reach out to feel his lover’s wrist, his neck, or his chest--to feel the steady beat of Tony’s heart that meant he really was alive and well.

Tony’s heart was healthier than it had been in years, but Steve just could not convince himself of that fact in the dark of their bedroom in the middle of the night.

A couple times Tony half awoke when Steve was doing his check, but thankfully a murmured, “Shh, go back to sleep,” was enough to prevent him from waking more fully. Which was good, because the genius didn’t get enough sleep as it was, often working late into the night.

JARVIS picked up on the issue, and tried to help. Keeping the lights at 5% helped Steve see that Tony was breathing, but since the light was just diffuse around the room, rather than coming from Tony, it didn’t prevent Steve’s waking in a panic.

Then, one evening a few months after the surgery, Tony paused by the nightstand, looking like he was trying to figure out how to say something.

“...Tony?” Steve asked

“Imadesomethingforyou,” Tony said in a rush, “And now I’m realizing now that I probably should’ve talked to you instead of just building a solution that might _maybe_ be a little overboard, but I’m me, so...”

Steve raised his eyebrows as Tony pulled something out of his nightstand, and held it out to Steve.

It looked like a watch, except instead of having a clock, the face showed simply a soft blue glow.

The glow of an arc reactor.

Steve smiled, heart warming as he reached out for the gift. “You figured it out, huh?”

Tony shrugged, climbing in beside Steve. “J said you were waking up a lot, then checking on me... I guessed it was because you’d gotten used to the arc reactor.”

“Thank you,” Steve said emphatically. “Uh, can... can you wear it?”

“Sure, however you’d prefer,” Tony said, taking the glowing watch and wrapping it around his own wrist. “But if you want to wear it or keep it nearby when one of us is travelling, it’ll still work.”

Steve furrowed his brow. “Work?” The device seemed obviously portable, so why would Tony specify that it would work even if they were apart?

Tony opened his mouth, then closed it. “Oh. I didn’t mention? It’s... attuned to me. It has a receiver that picks up a signal from a transmitter under my skin.” Tony pointed at a small spot on his left forearm, where a tiny healing cut was visible. “If it’s glowing, you’ll know my heart is beating.”

Oh. Wow.

“It’s too much, isn’t it? You were happy when you thought it was just a light, but I made it creepy, I--”

“Tony.” Steve pulled his lover in close, kissing first his lips, then the spot on Tony’s arm where a transmitter apparently rested. “It’s wonderful. It’s a little over-the-top, but that’s _you_, and I love you. And I love that I’ll be able to see that you’re okay, even if you’re not nearby.” And really, knowing that the light actually meant Tony was okay would probably help his subconscious more than the mere familiar light would.

“Okay, that’s good, I’m glad you’re not upset about it. And yeah--it’ll work at really long distances, and through most materials, but... if you’re ever away and it’s not lit, don’t assume the worst, okay? Certain kinds of interference could block it, or--hell, our lives are strange, I could end up on another planet or something, and it’s not going to work if I’m literal lightyears away, okay? So don’t freak out if it isn’t on, but it really should work most of the time.”

Steve suddenly imagined the horror he’d feel if he ever saw the light not glowing, and was glad for Tony’s warning. He’d probably still panic a little if it happened, but knowing there were other possibilities would help until he knew for sure what had happened.

“I understand. This is just... it’s amazing, Tony. Thank you so much.” He leaned in for a deep kiss, which Tony returned whole-heartedly.

They didn’t get to sleep right away.

But when Steve did finally fall asleep, he slept straight through the night, comforted by the soothing glow that meant all was right with his world.


	27. Coat (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Tony is having a terrible day, a kind stranger gives him the coat off his back.

Tony sighed, looking down at the ground. At his phone, which was now lying face down in the slush on the sidewalk.

He couldn’t see the screen, so maybe it wasn’t cracked. Maybe the slush and the salt that prevented the slush from becoming ice hadn’t started seeping in yet, wouldn’t destroy the delicate electronics. He wouldn’t know for sure until he picked it up.

Of course, as he leaned down to do so, a Jeep careened by, immediately covering Tony from head to toe in more of the freezing, disgusting slush.

“Fuck!”

Tony braced himself against the cold, the suit jacket which had been sufficient to keep him almost warm now soaked through, sending icy misery through his body, worse when a gust of wind buffeted him. He gritted his teeth and reached for his phone, cold fingers fumbling once before managing to grab it.

The screen was shattered and liquid was seeping in. The phone was almost certainly useless.

With the frustrated disappointment and the miserable cold, he could feel tears threatening, but he tried to hold them back, knowing the wind on teary eyes would only make him colder.

He was about to stand back up when he felt a soft weight settle over his shoulders and back. Suddenly, there was protection from the wind, the cold of his soaking jacket not so bad. What...?

Tony glanced at his shoulders to see a ragged brown coat draped over them. He stood and turned, shocked to see a short, skinny blond man pulling his arms back and rubbing his hands together to warm them up. The man himself had no protection from the elements other than a worn button-down shirt and khakis with holes at the knees.

“...Did you just give me your coat?” Tony asked.

“You looked like you needed it more than I did,” the guy said matter-of-factly, even as he shivered.

“Do you know who I am?” Tony asked incredulously.

The small blond shrugged. “A businessman having a rough day?”

Tony gaped, then started to pull the coat off his shoulders to hand back to the guy. “Thanks, but you--”

“No,” the guy said. “You’re soaked, you’re gonna freeze without it. Keep it.”

Tony hesitated, looking down at the destroyed phone he was still holding. He couldn’t call Happy to pick him up from the coffee house he’d been heading toward, so he’d have to walk back to the office. It wasn’t a long walk, but even a few blocks in a dripping wet suit would be sheer misery. The coat, while neither the warmest nor the most fashionable, would at least make the trip more tolerable.

“Thank you,” he said, finally. “But at least give me an address or a contact number so I can return it to you later?”

The guy pursed his lips, but then agreed, taking out a little notebook and scribbling something down with pale, stiff fingers, before tearing out the sheet to hand it to Tony. “I’m Steve. My roommate Bucky might answer the door, you can just give the coat to him if I’m not home.”

Normally averse to people he didn’t know handing him things, Tony didn’t want to keep his good Samaritan out in the cold any longer, so he made himself reach out to take the paper. “Thank you, Steve. I’m Tony.”

~

When the door to the third-floor apartment opened, the brunet man who answered looked at Tony, eyes wide, then noticed the coat he was carrying.

“Holy shit,” he said, then shouted back into the apartment, “Hey, punk, you didn’t say the soaked businessman you saved from becoming a popsicle was Tony Fuckin’ Stark!” Then he turned back to Tony. “Uh, sorry, come in, I guess, Steve’s here, I’ll just...”

The man--presumably Steve’s roommate Bucky--gestured Tony inside, then started picking up, tossing a blanket from the floor onto the sofa, picking up a pizza box and some glasses from the coffee table and carrying them to a tiny kitchenette. The place was cramped and in disrepair, but it looked lived in, books and pens and notebooks strewn around, photos and art decorating the walls.

“You don’t have to tidy up for me,” Tony protested, thinking of the current state of his own office, “I’m just here to give Steve--”

“Tony?” the man himself had appeared in the living room. His eyes traveled down Tony’s form, his bespoke suit crisp and dry after the cleaners had worked their magic. If the genius wasn’t mistaken, there was some appreciation in Steve’s gaze. “Nice to see you warm and dry.”

“I could say the same for you,” Tony replied. The man’s royal blue sweater brought out his lovely blue eyes, and his cheeks looked a healthier pink than the pale hue they’d been in the cold the other day.

“Oh my god,” probably-Bucky said as he came out of the kitchenette, “You’re actually flirting with Tony Stark, I’m gonna get out of here and let you two talk about heating up and all that...”

“_Bucky..._” Steve hissed, his cheeks now turning an adorable bright red, and Tony tried to hide his smile.

As the roommate left, Steve cleared his throat. “Right, well, thanks for coming to return that,” he said, pointing at the coat Tony had nearly forgotten he was holding.

“Yes. Right,” Tony said, handing it over.

He’d planned to let Steve discover it later, but the small blond man noticed the envelope in the pocket right away. “What’s this?” He opened it, and his eyes widened when he saw the check. “Tony, no. I didn’t help you to try to get money.”

“I know,” Tony said, pretty sure Steve still didn’t really know who he was. “But you deserve it, and I thought you might need it.”

A stubborn look crossed the blond’s face. “I get by just fine, I don’t need your charity.”

“You literally gave me the coat off your back, but you won’t accept a little thank you cash?” Tony didn’t understand what was happening here.

“This isn’t ‘a little’, for God’s sake, this is three months’ rent, and I’m not gonna accept this for just helping you out when you needed it!” Steve’s eyes flashed, righteousness flaring from his clenched jaw to his slim, tensed-for-a-fight shoulders.

Tony opened his mouth, then closed it. “Okay, counteroffer: let me take you out on a date.”

The tension dropped from Steve’s body as his mouth hung open in shock. “Excuse me?”

“You’re cute, you seem to be genuinely a good person, you’re stubborn as hell, it looked like you might be attracted to me, and you don’t care about my money. I don’t meet a lot of people who fit even a few of those criteria.” When the man’s shocked expression didn’t change, Tony added, “Or, I mean, you don’t have to accept the money or the date, I can just get out of your hair...” He started to turn toward the door.

“_Yes_,” Steve said quickly.

Tony stopped. “Yes...?”

“Yes to the date,” Steve clarified. Tony turned back to see his face had transformed back from righteous anger to awkward shyness. 

A thrill ran through Tony. He couldn’t wait to learn more about this incredible, complicated man. “Great!” he said. “How about I pick you up Friday at 7? I’ll even bring my own coat this time.”

Steve laughed. “Sounds great.”


	28. Ride (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After someone tries to trigger the Winter Soldier, Bucky needs a lift home.

“_Homecoming. One._”

Bucky kept eye contact with the woman, ignoring the slight chill of the wind on the roof. She was clearly growing a little more uncertain with each word she said, as Bucky’s steady gaze didn’t change.

He refused to give in to the tiny piece of him that was still anxious, that maybe the last word really would trigger something, even though he _knew_ the deprogramming had worked, they’d tested it, the trigger was totally neutralized.

“_Freight car._”

Nothing. He was still himself.

“..._Soldier_?” she asked, not as firmly as she was clearly intending.

“Nope, sorry.” He smirked. Then he heard a familiar whine coming closer. “Anyway, gotta go, my ride’s almost here. Good luck with your world domination plans, or whatever it is you’re up to.”

“Wait, no, you can’t just--” she began.

Then she stopped as Iron Man soared over the edge of the roof, coming to land beside Bucky, aiming a repulser at the woman. “Stay right there,” Tony commanded, then addressed Bucky, “You okay? You signaled, is this woman a threat?”

“I’m fine,” Bucky reassured him, “And, no, seems like she’s pretty harmless.”

The woman scoffed and glared, but as she appeared not to have even brought a _gun_ for her attempt to take control of the Winter Soldier, she really had no leg to stand on.

Later, he would recommend Tony analyze the armor’s footage of the woman so they could identify her and keep an eye on her activities, just in case. But for now she hadn’t technically done anything illegal, simply asked to meet him and then tried to use some obsolete brainwashing. 

“Uh-huh, so you called me...”

“For a ride home, of course,” Bucky grinned.

“Oh, is that what this is, I’m just a glorified taxi service?”

“Exactly,” Bucky agreed, though the truth was that when he’d signaled he hadn’t been a hundred percent sure she was harmless. And even now, it seemed safer to depart with his armored boyfriend than to walk out alone and assume she had no backup plan. Still, it was more fun to banter flippantly with said boyfriend than to let the woman who’d tried to use him believe she’d accomplished anything. “I’m dating the richest man in New York, gotta travel in style.”

“Excuse you, that’s richest man in the Western Hemisphere, and you’re damned right you do,” Tony retorted, “Don’t think I didn’t find out about you and Steve taking the _subway_ to the game last week.” He put out an arm. “Climb onboard, then, Iron Taxi Service now departing.”

Bucky stepped up on the armor’s right boot and put his metal arm around the waist, as Tony put his own arm around Bucky’s waist.

Then the former Winter Soldier threw a mocking salute at the glaring woman as they lifted off and flew toward home.


	29. Injured (Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve doesn’t want people to worry about him; Tony worries anyway.

Tony hovered as Steve hobbled out of the elevator with the single crutch, hovered as Steve made his way to a couch in the common area, and hovered as he sat down. After wheeling the ottoman over for Steve to prop his leg on, Tony gathered about a dozen pillows from the various plush seats and propped them around Steve.

“Need more pillows?” Tony asked.

“I think this is a lifetime supply,” Steve answered dryly.

“Blanket?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Drink?”

“No, Tony--”

“Snack?”

“Tony!”

Tony gave him an offended pout when he shouted, and Steve sighed. “I’m fine. Really.”

Tony pursed his lips. “I know.”

“It’s just a broken leg. They shouldn’t have even bothered with the cast, I’ll be healed by tomorrow.”

Tony crossed his arms. “Yeah. Tomorrow. Today, you’re hurt, and I want to help. You mother hen me when I’m sick or hurt, so what, I can’t return the favor?”

“Ah, so this is revenge, is it?” Steve asked with a grin. He was surprised when Tony didn’t joke along, but instead frowned more deeply. “Tony, what’s wrong?”

“I just don’t like it when you’re hurt.”

Steve shrugged. “I heal.”

“I know, and that’s not the point!” Tony shouted. “You act like your healing factor means the injury, the _pain_, doesn’t matter! But even if it’s for a shorter time than it is for us vanilla humans, it _hurts_ you, and pain meds don’t do shit for you, so all I can do is try to make sure you’re comfortable, okay?”

Steve stared at Tony. “Oh.” Then, because he’s an idiot, he finds himself saying, “It really doesn’t hurt that much.”

Tony took a deep breath, slowly let it out, then looked at Steve and said calmly, “You winced four times between the elevator and the couch, not counting the extended grimace as you were sitting down and putting your leg up.”

_I thought I hid that better,_ Steve wisely doesn’t say, but Tony seems to know he’s thinking it anyway.

“You might have the others fooled, but not me,” Tony said. “Well, probably not Natasha, but I think she’s cut from the same ‘If I don’t show it, the pain doesn’t count’ cloth as you are. Point is, you’re in pain, I don’t like it, and I don’t know why you won’t let me take care of you.”

Steve looked down, gathering strength, then met Tony’s eyes. “I spent a lot of time in bed as a kid, sick or hurt. I hated how sad my mom got, how helpless she felt when she couldn’t do anything. So I did my best to be okay, or to seem okay, at least. What was the point in both of us feeling bad, when there was nothing she could do?

“Now with the serum, there’s still nothing the people I care about can do, but at least I heal faster. So what’s the point in letting you guys worry about it in the short time until it’s better?”

Tony stared at him intently, then sat down next to him. He looked down at the moat of pillows separating him from Steve. “Okay. You don’t want us to worry. I’m gonna worry regardless. You don’t want me to offer you useless junk that doesn’t help--like pillows, apparently--so I can try to stop doing that. But if there’s anything you can think of that might possibly help you, then helping you will make me feel better, too. Even if that’s ‘go away and leave me alone’, I’ll do whatever it is you want, okay?” He met Steve’s eyes, dark eyes full of promise, commitment, and maybe something more.

Steve steadily returned his gaze, considering for a long moment before finally replying, “There was, um... something my mom did sometimes. I’d lie down with my head in her lap, and she’d rub my hair, my temples, and... it helped sometimes. It was soothing.” Steve’s heart was pounding with the thought of suggesting such an intimate activity with Tony, but... it didn’t feel wrong.

Tony’s eyes widened slightly, but he nodded, face still serious. “I can do that. If you want me to.”

Steve’s heart pounded even harder at Tony’s agreement, and for some reason he felt tears starting to prick his eyes, but he held them back and nodded.

“Okay.” Tony shoved the pillows between them to the floor, then turned to sit cross-legged on the couch facing him. “Are you--do you need help shifting to lie down?”

“I’ve got it,” Steve answered, then added belatedly, “But thank you.” He moved the leg in the cast from the ottoman to the arm of the couch opposite Tony, then lowered his head down into Tony’s lap.

He closed his eyes as Tony began to massage his head. The engineer’s fingers were bigger, more calloused than Steve’s mom’s had been, but no less adept, and Steve felt himself relaxing almost immediately.

“Is this okay?” Tony asked.

“Mm-hmm...” Steve murmured, already starting to drift, not to sleep, but to a comfortable doze where the only things that existed were Tony’s fingers stroking his head.

When he returned to himself some time later, the pleasant floaty feeling was wonderful, but even better was the soft, contented smile Tony gave him.

Maybe letting Tony help him when he was hurt wasn’t so bad after all.


	30. Catch (Peter & Steve/Tony)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter’s parents catch on to his secret identity.

Steve was a little surprised when Peter asked him to play a game of catch on the Tower’s roof. It had been a while since his son had wanted to throw a baseball around, but since Peter had been so busy lately with classes and extracurriculars and everything, Steve was glad to spend some time with him for once.

He was even more surprised to see how much his academic-focused son’s skills had improved since they’d last played. He was catching more adeptly, throwing harder and more accurately, and even managed a very impressive jump for the ball when Steve had lobbed it a little high (maybe on purpose, to see just how Peter would handle it).

“Nice jump!” Steve congratulated, and Peter turned a little pink.

“Thanks, Pops,” he replied, then threw the ball back to Steve.

Or rather, he wound up and prepared to throw, but didn’t actually let go of the ball.

The “Haha, gotcha!” that followed might have been more convincing if Peter hadn’t first looked surprised and alarmed at the ball still in his hand after the halted throw. Then he moved the ball from his right hand to his left, wincing slightly as though the movement hurt.

“You okay, Pete?” Steve asked in concern.

“‘Course, fine, why wouldn’t I be?” Peter stammered, shifting the ball between hands again. He looked down at it, a concerned expression on his face. “But, uh, I just remembered I’m supposed to meet up with MJ to study for the Decathalon, so--yeah. This was fun, though, thanks, Pops!”

Before Steve could reply, Peter had disappeared, taking the ball with him.

~

Tony arrived at the scene to see Spider-Man careening through the air, wrapping the creepy five-story-tall doll in layer upon layer of webbing. He flew over and checked out the kid’s progress. (He’d generally been considering the masked hero a kid, since he had a similar build to Tony’s teenage son.)

“Analysis, J?” He watched the scan results come up on the HUD.

“The doll appears to be close to immobilized, though the webbing on the lower left arm may give way if not reinforced. Additionally, it appears Spider-Man’s supply of web fluid may be--”

At that moment there was a yelp, and Spider-Man went from swinging around the doll to falling quite rapidly.

“Well, that’s not good...” Tony muttered as he fired his repulsers at maximum in order to catch the kid in time.

He ended up catching Spider-Man in something like a bridal carry, careful not to let the kid’s head smack the armor. Then he gently lowered them both to the ground.

“Da--!” Spider-Man started, then cut himself off and continued in a strangely deeper voice, “Er, Mr. Stark. Iron Man. Thanks for the save, there.”

“Guess you’re lucky I was in the neighborhood,” Tony replied casually, not giving voice to the strange and terrifying thoughts suddenly racing through his mind.

If he hadn’t been here...

~

“Hey, Dad, what’s up?” Peter asked as he entered the workshop, where JARVIS had summoned him. “Oh, hi, Pops...”

It wasn’t unusual to see Pops down in the workshop with Dad. The serious expressions on their faces when they looked at him, however, were a little concerning.

“Uh-oh. Am I in trouble?” he asked.

The two exchanged a glance, then Pops said, “No,” at the same time Dad said, “Jury’s out.”

“We have something for you,” Dad continued, “But we also want something from you.”

“O...kay?” Peter was really not sure what was going on here.

Then Dad opened a silver case that was sitting on the table, revealing... a Spider-Man costume?

Peter froze, then started babbling, “Oh, neat, this’ll be a great Halloween costume, I mean, it doesn’t look quite like Spider-Man’s, but I’m sure yours is better, the _real_ Spider-Man will be totally jealous--”

“Peter.” Pops’ voice was the one that said Peter had better stop talking _right now_.

After a moment of tense silence, Dad asked, “Well, aren’t you going to take a look at your gift?” While Peter still felt like he was on the verge of being grounded for all eternity, there was a hint of a genuine smile on Dad’s face.

The suit really did look incredible, obviously Dad’s handiwork, and it was perfectly made to fit him. He took the mask and, after glancing questioningly at Pops and receiving a nod, put it over his head.

“_Hello, Peter,_” came a feminine voice.

“Whoa!” Peter shouted, pulling the mask off and staring at Dad. “Who was that?”

“Your suit AI. I figured you could name her.”

“This is a dream. This has to be a dream, this can’t really be happening.”

“It’s happening,” Pops said, finally cracking a bit of a smile at Peter’s awe.

Dad explained, “Your AI will help you with things like, I don’t know, warning you when you’re almost out of web fluid?”

Peter gave a nervous laugh. “Oh. Yeah, you were there for that.”

“I was, thank _fuck._ What if I’d been a minute later?” Peter winced as Dad’s voice wavered on the last word.

He tried to tell himself that was why he hadn’t wanted his parents to know, because they’d worry. But the truth was, he’d been afraid they’d try to stop him from being Spider-Man. But they were giving him a new suit, so they couldn’t be, right?

Pops placed a comforting hand on Dad’s shoulder, then told Peter, “That brings us to what we want from you.”

Right. That didn’t sound good, but if they didn’t want him to stop being Spider-Man, what could they want? “Which is?”

“You call us when you need us,” Dad said, voice now firm and eyes pinning Peter’s. “Any time a situation might possibly become too much for you. You don’t wait and see, you call us in right away. Your AI can interface with JARVIS and get us details.”

“And if for some reason you feel you can’t call us,” Pops added, to which Dad made a face, “You call someone else on the team. I’d like to think you can come to us about anything,” and wow, there was Pops’ guilt-trip-inducing face, “But if you can’t, I’d rather you ask Aunt Nat for help and have her never breathe a word of it to us, than for you to get in over your head by yourself. Got it?”

“...yeah,” Peter breathed, shaken by the enormity of this. Instead of having to hide his web-swinging crime fighting from his parents, he had their support, including a brand new suit with Dad’s tech to help him. Instead of fearing the thought of calling in the Avengers when things got tough because someone might recognize him, he could have backup any time he needed it. “I mean, yes, I’ll call you in if I need help.” He swallowed. “...Thank you. For the suit, and for not taking this away from me.”

“You’re our son, Pete,” Pops said with a warm smile. “Even if we’re not related by blood, there’s no way we’d be able to stop you from being a hero.”

“So we’ll do our best to keep you safe while you do it,” Tony added. “One way or another, we’ll be there to catch you when you fall.”

“Okay, that was super cheesy, but,” Peter pulled first Dad, then Pops, into a hug, “I have the best parents in the world.”


	31. Ripe (Tony/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A proposal doesn’t go as planned. (Tony/Bucky edition.)

“Hey, babe, got you something,” Tony said casually as he approached the couch, basket in hand.

“Hmm?” Bucky murmured, not glancing up from his book.

“Plums, your favorite!” Tony held out the basket, tempted to shake it but not wanting to jostle its contents.

Bucky still didn’t look up, but he said, “Thanks, doll.”

Tony frowned. This was not how it was supposed to go.

“I went to the farmer’s market, your favorite stall, and I picked all the best, ripest, most delicious looking ones I could find.”

Of course, that was when Clint wandered through, and Tony had the attention of the wrong person. “Ooh, sounds great, thanks!” Clint reached for the bright purple plum on top.

Tony snatched the basket away before the archer could grab one, and glared hard at him.

Clint’s hands went up defensively, then his gaze darted to the basket--where the plums had shifted--and his eyes widened in shock. “Oh. Got it. All Bucky’s.” He looked over at the man still engrossed in his book on the couch. “Hey, Bookworm Barnes, might wanna pay attention to your boyfriend, here, and grab a plum.” Then he gave Tony a wink and a pat on the shoulder, and left the room.

Tony quickly adjusted the plum placements and turned back to Bucky, who was finally looking up at him.

“Sorry, doll, was I ignoring you?”

Tony gave him a quick smile, suddenly rethinking his whole plan. This was stupid, Pepper had said not to go too big but maybe this was too small, and certainly the wrong time, and...

“Ooh,” Bucky said, eyes alighting on the fruit basket. “Plums! Ripe ones, too. Those look amazing, love!”

Now a real smile grew on Tony’s face as he got the reaction he’d been hoping for the first time, an excited boyfriend jumping up to grab the gift Tony had gotten him.

“Did you go to the market without me?” Bucky asked, eyeing the plums in delight like it was very important which one he selected first. “You always grumble when I take you...”

“I wanted to get you something special,” Tony said, heart pounding as he waited for Bucky to find the item that was more special than plums.

“You’re the best, doll,” Bucky said, then finally chose a plum and took a big bite. “Mmmm....” he moaned, and suddenly Tony’s heart was pounding for a different reason, watching his boyfriend savor the fruit.

Then, as he was still chewing, Bucky glanced back in the basket. His eyes widened, and he gasped.

And then he was coughing, choking on the bit of plum he must have inhaled.

“Crap, are you okay?” Tony asked, putting the basket down on the coffee table and reaching out, not sure how to help. “Dammit, I meant for this to be sweet and romantic, and instead you’re going to choke to death all because of me...”

Except Bucky wasn’t really choking, he was clearly breathing through the coughs, and eventually his breathing leveled out. He looked down at his metal hand, where he’d apparently caught the bit of plum he’d nearly choked on. Then he looked at Tony, then at the basket, then down at his hand again, and then back at Tony. “I’ll be right back,” he said firmly. “Don’t move.”

Tony obeyed, though he stared forlornly the whole time at the basket that had not at all been living up to his expectations.

After a short time, Bucky returned, looking a little relieved to see Tony still there. “Okay! I’m here, I’m not ignoring you, and I’m not choking or holding half-chewed plum. Let’s do this.”

“Uh,” Tony said.

Then Bucky smiled, and all the failures of the last few minutes no longer mattered. 

“Okay, yeah, let’s do this.” Tony walked over to the basket, took out the gold-titanium ring half-hidden under a plum, walked back to Bucky, and got down on one knee. “James Buchanan Barnes, you are everything in the world to me. You keep me sane when I’m losing my mind, but if I’m only going half crazy you come along for the ride. I love you, and I want to spend forever with you. Will you marry me?”

Bucky’s eyes looked a little watery as he nodded, smiling widely. “Of course, doll.”

Tony slid the ring onto Bucky’s finger, bringing the metal hand up to his lips to kiss. Then he laughed, and Bucky gave him a curious look. “Tastes like plums,” he explained with a grin.

**Author's Note:**

> I did it! I successfully posted every day in October. The responses along the way definitely helped me along, so thank you so much to everyone who's been giving kudos and commenting!
> 
> So, now that it's done, which were your favorites?


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